Cane arrears in Maharashtra are mounting up. The arrears in the state have touched the R3,000-crore mark leaving millers a worried lot.

After a couple of rounds of hearings conducted by the State Sugar Commissionerate to recover cane payments for farmers, the commissionerate is now awaiting further directions from the state government. The reason: Another R3,000 crore is yet to be recovered from sugar mills and a fresh round of hearings will be required to summon millers to explain the reasons for their failure to make payments.

This season, Maharashtra has crushed 864 lakh metric tonne, resulting in a record production of 97 lakh metric tonne.

State sugar commissioner Vipin Sharma said that a clear picture with regard to the total arrears as on March 31 will emerge by the end of this week. Last time around 28 mills with a gap in payment of more than R400 per tonne  were called by the commissionerate for hearings. “This time the number of mills to be called for hearings is still undecided. We are waiting for the government decision,” he said.