Haryana govt clearing sugar mill dues

Haryana Agriculture Minister Om Prakash Dhankar today said that most of the dues accruing to the 14 sugar mills in the state have been paid and the balance would be cleared within the next few days.
The minister said that 11 cooperative sugar mills had purchased sugarcane worth Rs 1,077 crore during 2014-15 crushing season.
Of this, payments of more than Rs 1,022 crore have already been made to the farmers, he added.
He said that three private mills-- Saraswati Sugar Mills, Piccadilly Agro Industries Limited and Naraingarh Sugar Mills,
-- had purchased sugarcane worth Rs 692 crore, of which they have already paid more than Rs 631 crore to the farmers.

Keeping in view the demands of sugar mills and the interests of farmers, the Haryana government has in an unprecedented measure made soft loans available to these mills.

The present government has arranged more than Rs 190 crore in order to clear dues for sugarcane purchased during the 2013-14 season, Dhankar added.
The minister said that during 2014-15 crushing season, all 14 sugar mills had purchased sugarcane worth Rs 1,77,084.36 lakh, of which Rs 1,65,342.47 lakh had already been paid to the farmers by August 24, 2015.
Loans have been made available to sugar mills for the balance Rs 11,741.89 lakh, he said.

Giving further details, Dhankar said that during the current crushing season (2014-15), the dues of eight cooperative sugar mills have been cleared in full.
The arrears of Rohtak Sugar Mill and Meham Sugar Mill amounting to Rs 16.19 crore and Rs 8.00 crore, respectively, would be cleared within next couple of days, he added.
The minister said that Panipat Sugar Mill purchased sugarcane worth Rs 72.57 crore against which full payments have been made to the farmers.
Similarly, full payments have been made to Karnal Sugar Mill, Sonepat Mill, Shahabad Mill, and Jind Mill amounting to Rs 94.36 crore, Rs 72.37 crore, Rs 215.48 crore and Rs 62.85 crore, respectively.

Palwal, Kaithal and Gohana Mills, which purchased sugarcane worth Rs 48.07 crore, Rs 97.45 crore and Rs 91.10 crore, respectively, have also been paid in full.