UP sets August 31 deadline for mills to settle Rs 8,200 crore cane arrears

Bajaj Hindusthan, Simbhaoli among top defaulters in setting farmers' dues

With the 2019-20 sugarcane crushing cycle barely two months away, the Yogi Adityanath government has set an August 31 deadline for mills in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s top sugar producer, to settle farmer dues, of more than Rs 8,200 crore, for the current season.

Against total cane payables of Rs 33,047 crore, UP mills have, so far, paid 75 per cent or Rs 24,792 crore to farmers, thus leaving 25 per cent or Rs 8,255 crore in arrears for the 2018-19 season.

During the corresponding period last year (2017-18), the unpaid component stood at Rs 11,161 crore or about 32 per cent