UP govt asks mills to pay cane dues by Feb 10

The Uttar Pradesh government has asked sugar mills to clear cane dues from the 2006-07 season by February 10, Laxmi Narayan, the state's agriculture minister, said on Wednesday.

"Mills still have cane arrears of about Rs 800 crore from the last sugar season," Narayan told reporters on the sidelines of a farm meet.

Narayan said recovery notices would be issued to mills that default on the February 10 deadline, to clear cane dues.

Last week, the Supreme Court had stayed the December 19 Allahabad High Court order that had quashed the state-advised price of Rs 125 a quintal as payment for last season's cane arrears.

The apex court had also restored the state government's powers to seize sugar stocks as well as machinery equipment of mills that default on cane payments and sell them to make payments to farmers.