28 Maharashtra sugar mills face action for non-payment of dues to farmers
These mills now face the possibility of their sugar stocks being seized and auctioned to pay farmers their dues.
A report from the sugar commissionerate shows that mills in the state had crushed 854.50 lakh tonnes of cane and were expected to pay Rs 31,587 crore as the Fair Remunerative Price (FRP) to farmers for cane purchased from them.
Till July 15, Maharashtra reported 98.70 per cent of clearance of cane dues. A total of 135 mills have cleared 100 per cent of their FRP till date.
Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court struck down the 2022 government resolution that allowed FRP to be paid in parts. FRP is linked with sugar recovery – which is the ratio between sugar produced and cane crushed – and the 2022 resolution had mandated that payment be done as per the recovery of the current season. This meant the first payment would be as per the base recovery, and once the season is over, the rest would be paid as per the final recovery percentage of the mill. This was a break from the past, where the mills paid the FRP as per the recovery of the last season, and most mills paid FRP in one instalment.
Farmer leader Raju Shetti had moved the Bombay High Court against this move, and the high court had struck down the 2022 government resolution.
The state government has moved the Supreme Court against this decision.
Yogesh Pande, Spokesperson, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, said, 'We have already filed a caveat in the Supreme Court in this regard. We will pursue the matter to its logical end.'
Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More
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