Sugar mills in Maharashtra, which has seen a glut in production, owe Rs 593 crore to farmers, according to an official.
The state government is making efforts to persuade the sugar mills to clear the dues of farmers, he reportedly said.
The mills paid around Rs 20,682 crore as sugarcane purchase price to farmers till July this year, but there are still arrears worth Rs 593 crore, the official in the state sugar commissioner’s office was quoted as saying.
Last year, there were arrears of only Rs two crore, he noted.
State sugar commissioner Sambhaji Kadu Patil reportedly said he has been personally talking to sugar mill owners to clear the dues of farmers.
Action has been taken against some mills which did not comply with the government norms for making payments, a PTI report quoted him as saying.
“This has helped in reducing the conflict between farmers and mills and also in bringing down the arrears of Rs 850 crore as on July 18 to Rs 593 crore by July end,” he reportedly said.
The government had earlier notified its decision to fix the ex-factory sugar price at Rs 29 per kg as well as the monthly stock holding limit on mills as part of measures to help the cash-starved industry to clear cane arrears, the report said.
No producer shall sell sugar in the domestic market at a rate below Rs 29 per kg, the notification reportedly said.