Bihar govt to lease out 8 sugar mills

The Bihar government is likely to offer eight of the 15 sugar mills owned by the Bihar State Sugar Corporation on a long-term lease.

"We had appointed SBI Capital as the financial consultant for evaluating the assets of these mills for sale or lease. According to its report, eight mills have been found viable and SBI has recommended leasing out these mills for a 90-year period," said a senior state official.

"Once the state Cabinet approves it, we will advertise about the lease. The remaining seven will be put to some other industrial use," he added.

These mills have a crushing capacity in the range of 850-1750 tonnes crushed daily (tcd) and their combined capacity is 15,000 tcd. Most of these mills, located in the districts of Darbhanga, Madhubani, Champaran and Saran, have been lying closed for more than a decade.

Together, these mills have a financial liability of Rs 700 crore under various heads and the funds raised by selling or leasing them will be used for clearing the liabilities. The state government has already paid cane arrears of Rs 8.84 crore that these mills owed to farmers.

However, the state may not find buyers for all the mills. The slowdown in the sugar industry has prevented companies like Dhampur and Rajshree Sugars to proceed with their Bihar investment plans that they announced last year.