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Warning them of stern action, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday asked sugar mill owners in Saharanpur, Meerut and Moradabad divisions to start the crushing season between November 20 and 25. Sugar mills in the rest of the state should start crushing by November 30, the chief minister said.
Yadav directed officials to take strong action against mill owners if they failed to follow the order. The chief minister’s directive comes in the wake of delay in the sugar crushing season in the state.
Cane Commissioner Subhash Chandra Sharma has been mandated to convey the government’s decision to the mill owners. Private mill owners had taken a position that they would start crushing only after the state government announced the sugarcane price.
According to industry sources, private mills owe arrears to the tune of Rs 2,400 crore to farmers. Claiming losses over the last few years, the industry wants the government to link cane prices with sugar prices.
On October 29, the cane commissioner had asked the cooperative mills in western UP to start operations between November 15 and 20. Similarly, cooperative mills in Bareilly and Lucknow regions were to start crushing between November 20 and 25. The cooperative mills in eastern UP were asked to start operations by November-end.
Meanwhile, the high-powered cane price fixation committee, headed by the chief secretary, would consider the recommendations of the subordinate panel, headed by the cane commissioner, on Tuesday.
The chief secretary’s panel would then submit its recommendations before the cabinet for approval.
UP accounts for 30 per cent of India’s annual sugar output. The sugar industry, worth Rs 30,000 crore, is the largest organised sector in the state. About four million farmers are associated with sugar cane farming.
