CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday directed private and cooperative sugar mills of Punjab and Haryana to make payments to cane farmers by September 10.

A division bench headed by Justice S K Mittal directed both the state governments to make payments to the farmers in view of the Union government's policy of extending soft loans to sugar mills.

The development is significant, as the high court on previous occasions had directed both the states to give a deadline for making final payment to the farmers for their produce. However, both states failed to give a deadline citing various reasons, including shortage of funds and poor financial condition of private sugar mills.

The matter is pending before the HC through a petition filed by Lok Bhalai Insaf Welfare Society against the non-payment by sugar mills in Punjab and Haryana to the cane growers.

According to the petitioner society, there are 13 sugar mills (three private and 10 cooperative) in Haryana, which had to pay around Rs 900 crore to farmers. In Punjab, there are 16 sugar mills (seven private and nine cooperative) that were to pay around Rs 730 crore to farmers.

Following the petition, both states had released some money but they are yet to make full payment to the sugarcane growers. During the previous hearing on May 8, the HC had observed, "You want farmers to continue to commit suicide. Their livelihoods depend on the sale of their agriculture produce." The court had also asked the states to fix a time frame within which the payments would be made.