Chandigarh: In an unprecedented move, Punjab government on Thursday cleared all the pending dues of the sugarcane farmers by depositing last installment of Rs 75 crore in their respective accounts.
Divulging the details, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that the state Government has released Rs. 75.00 crores as payment to the sugarcane farmers on Wednesday i.e September 7, 2022
through Sugarfed, Punjab.
He said that the same has been deposited in the respective accounts of the concerned sugarcane farmers today (Thursday, September 8). Bhagwant Mann said that with
this, there is no outstanding dues of Sugarcane growers left
against the nine Cooperative Sugar Mills at Ajnala, Batala, Budhewal, Bhogpur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Morinda, Nakodar and Nawanshahr.
The Chief Minister further said that this pending payments relates to the crushing season 2021-22 and for the first time all the dues of the farmers have been cleared. He asserted that with this payment of Rs.75 crore, the Cooperative Sugar Mills in the state have cleared all the pending arrears of cane farmers. Bhagwant Mann said that till now Rs.619.62 crores have been paid to the sugarcane farmers and nothing is left as on date.
He said that his government is making sincere efforts to ensure that in the forthcoming sugarcane season of 2022-23, no such inordinate delay takes place and farmers get the payment of their produce on time.