Punjab to tap co-operative sugar mills for power

The Punjab government has chalked out an ambitious plan to generate power to the tune of Rs 200 crore per annum, by setting up co-generation power plants at all the co-operative sugar mills in the state. This was stated by Punjab Co-operation Minister Kanwaljit Singh today, while presiding over a one-day workshop organised by Sugarfed, to suggest various ways and means to make the state co-operative sugar mills self-sufficient. The workshop was attended by the chairmen and the board of directors of all the cooperative sugar mills.

Singh said that the state cooperative mills had the potential of generating 100-120 Mw annually and the state electricity board has offered to purchase the proposed power at Rs 2.86 per unit, thereby creating an additional revenue of more than Rs 200 crore annually. The existing losses of all these mills have been pegged at Rs 77.95 crore.

Singh said a comprehensive revival plan to convert these mills into mega sugar complexes had been drafted. Accordingly the enhancement in the crushing capacity of the mills has become imperative, as these days, a mill having a minimum crushing capacity of 5,000 tonnes sugarcane was sustainable. Besides this, there is talk of creating additional sources of income with special emphasis laid on diversification and production of ethanol, as the Centre had already allowed the blending of ethanol in petrol and diesel up to 5 per cent, which would be further increased to 10 per cent in the coming year.

The minister said the state government had agreed in principle to grant bottling licence to three distilleries of the state cooperative sugar mills, and in this regard, proposals were being drafted. The minister categorically said that Rs 22 crore out of the total pending Rs 37 crore arrears of sugarcane growers would be disbursed within a week and efforts were being made to clear all the arrears in near future.

Singh further added that the registrar co-operative societies had been directed to constitute a high-level committee of senior officers to streamline the functioning of cooperative institutions, to bring more efficiency and competence in the day-to-day working, thereby cutting short the time of decision making on the pattern of private sectors, and submit its report within a stipulated timeframe of one month.