The Tamil Nadu government will pay pending dues to the tune of ₹182 crore to co-operative and public sector sugarcane mills in the State, Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare M.R.K. Panneerselvam informed the Assembly on Thursday.
Mr. Pannerselvam said the government would provide the funds as procedural loans. He said there were 10 co-operative and two public sector sugar mills in the State. For 2020-21, the government would provide the amount pending for the sugarcane farmers based on the fair and remunerative price (FRP) fixed by the Union government. He said the dues were being paid taking into account the welfare of the sugarcane farmers who had supplied their produced to the mills. He also detailed the funds to be provided to each sugar mill.
The Minister said the government had finalised the farmers’ crop insurance with two firms — Iffco-Tokio and the Agriculture Insurance Company of India — as only they had come forward to provide insurance. Mr. Panneerselvam said due to the Union government reducing its share of the premium, the State’s burden had increased and many firms had not come forward to provide insurance. He also requested farmers taking loans to insure the crops as notified for Kharif and Samba with agriculture cooperative banks and nationalised banks and those not taking loans to insure the crops through e-seva centres.
