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A day after private sugar mills expressed helplessness to clear farmers' sugarcane arrears of about Rs 2,400 crore, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government on Friday said it would "put pressure" on mills to settle dues.
Replying to a question in the state assembly, cabinet minister Ambika Chaudhary said the "pro-farmer" regime was committed to protecting the interests of cane farmers. He added that the government would frame policies aimed at boosting the sugar sector and insulating both farmers and sugar mills from losses.
Chaudhary recalled that the previous Samajwadi Party government in the state headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav had facilitated setting up of 23 new sugar mills through proactive policies.
He, however, conceded there was some trouble in the state sugar sector. He noted that one reason why sugar produced in UP was costlier compared with states located near sea ports was the ease with which the latter could convert imported raw sugar into finished sugar.
Opposition leader and senior Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Swami Prasad Maurya lamented that while cane arrears of the previous season was pending, another crushing season is about to start.
He warned if the government failed to ensure settlement of arrears, the arrears of the coming season would also pile up, causing immense hardships to farmers.
Unsatisfied with the government's reply, BSP members walked out of the assembly in protest.
The private mills in the state had already hinted at the likelihood of mills deciding not to crush in the coming season unless the government bails out the beleaguered sector.
The sugar industry in UP is said to have incurred Rs 4,000 crore losses in the past two years. Mills have said they are not in a position to settle arrears pertaining to 2012-13 season. Millers want the government to provide subsidy of Rs 40-50 a quintal of cane for the coming crushing season.
