Pending amount of Rs.45 crores towards cane growers released by cooperative sugar mills

CHANDIGARH: The balance of Rs. 45 crore towards the pending amount of cane growers for 2020-21 has been released by the cooperative sugar mills in line with the directions of the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Disclosing this here today, the Cooperation Minister S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the amount would be credited into the accounts of the cane growers today itself. He further said that the Punjab Government has released the said amount of Rs. 45 crore at its own level despite the Union Government still not releasing the export subsidy for 2019-20 and buffer stock subsidy worth Rs. 10.56 crore of the cooperative sugar mills and regular contact is being maintained with the Union Government to ensure it’s early release so as to enable the State Government to release the entire pending amount of sugarcane. A budgetary outlay of Rs. 300 crore has been made in the budget of 2021-22 for complete payment of the balance amount, informed Randhawa.

Pointing out further, S. Randhawa said that the Punjab Government is undertaking necessary steps to increase the income of cane growers and the cooperative sugar mills would provide as many as 20 lakh seeds of high yield varieties of sugarcane (prepared with the assistance of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and the Karnal centre of Indian Council of Agricultural Research) to the cane growers before the sowing season of September-October. This would not only increase the per acre yield of the sugarcane but also augment the per acre income of the cane growers. It is in keeping with this strategy that Guru Nanak Dev Sugarcane Research Institute has been established at Kalanaur and a seed farm spread across 15 acres has been readied which would soon be dedicated to the cane growers. The work related to bio-CNG project at Batala Cooperative Sugar Mill at a cost of Rs. 30 crore with private partners, is also commencing today whereas same project at the Bhogpur Cooperative Sugar Mill would be commenced this month.