Uttar Pradesh govt uncovers fake bonds of 1.5 million tonnes of sugarcane

Crooked ways: Mafia poses as bona fide farmers with cane/mill societies, buys cane from small cultivators at low rates, resells to mills at much higher price; 57,348 fake bonds unearthed so far

In its ongoing campaign to weed out the ‘sugarcane mafia’, the Uttar Pradesh government has uncovered fake bonds of almost 1.5 million tonnes (MT) of sugarcane, even as the next crushing season is fast approaching.

The sugarcane mafia operates by registering as bona fide farmers with sugarcane/mill societies. During crushing season, they procure cane from small farmers at cheaper rates and resell it to mills at a much higher government determined rates known as the state advised price (SAP).

According to UP sugarcane and sugar commissioner Sanjay Bhoosreddy, some 57,348 fake sugarcane bonds so far had been unearthed across the state under