Congress Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in to ensure that arrears due to the sugarcane farmers in Punjab are paid in a timely manner.
Pointing out that in Punjab, the outstanding sugarcane payment stood at ₹306.59 crore, as on July 7, 2020, Mr. Bajwa, in a letter to the Prime Minister, said 72% of total cane crushed had been purchased by the private sugar mills in Punjab and about 28% by the cooperative sugar mills. “The sugar mills are bound to make cane payments within 14 days of purchase of cane according to the Sugarcane Control Order, 1966, and the Sugarcane Purchase and Supply Regulation Act, 1957. Otherwise they will have to make payments along with interest. But it is a matter of great concern that farmers have to beg and wait for years to be paid their dues.”
Mr. Bajwa added that the farmers must receive payments within a timeframe, if there was to be any impetus on crop diversification. “It is unacceptable that the farmer has to wait months or even years for their payments. In this scenario, why would they look to diversify their crop production with these risks?” he said.
Urging the Prime Minister to look into the matter, Mr. Bajwa suggested that mill operators with unpaid dues for a year or more be banned from operating in the market. “Also, the government should look into fiscal measures or budgetary provisions that can be used to clear the dues of the farmers in a timely fashion and recover the same from the erring mill operators,” he wrote.
