Many of those sugar mills have defaulted on fee to sugarcane farmers prior to now regardless of taking subsidy from the successive state governments. The sugarcane farmers have principally been protesting in opposition to non-payment of their dues.

Punjab agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who had ordered the audit, mentioned that the groups of finance division had been tasked with the job on Monday. “As many as 16 groups have been assigned. I had written to the Finance Division to offer groups in order that the whole lot may be audited and we get the proper image about what these sugar mills have been doing.”

He added that these groups will go to the sugar mills within the coming days and put together an in depth report. “We’ll see then what motion is to be taken.”

Punjab has seven personal sugar mills, together with Rana Sugars at Buttar Siviyan in Baba Bakala, the one related to former Congress chief and minister Rana Gurjit Singh. The Aam Aadmi Occasion (AAP) authorities is already taking motion in opposition to former ministers on completely different points.

Sources mentioned whereas AB Sugars at Dasuya and Nahar Sugar Mill at Amloh had cleared the dues of farmers, the remaining are but to clear dues of Rs 150 crore of final crushing season. Of those Golden Sandhar Sugar mill at Phagwara owes the utmost quantity. The sugarcane farmers had not too long ago blocked nationwide freeway in protest in opposition to the dues of Phagwara mills.

Rana Gurjit informed The Indian Categorical, “They’re most welcome to conduct the audit. There isn’t a wrongdoing in sugar mills. Dues are a cyclic course of. We pay them after which there may be some stability. Farmers need the sugar mills to run. Cane is most paying crop. I can solely say that two plus two will make 4. I can’t make it six and so they can’t make it three.

Had there been any wrongdoing, do you suppose the Enforcement Directorate would have spared me?” he requested.

The protests by sugarcane farmers to get their pending dues from sugar mills – each cooperative and personal – have develop into an annual affair in Punjab.

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In Punjab, sugarcane is sown on 87,000-97,000 hectares of land. Farmers safe a mean yield of 835-843 quintals per hectare. Final 12 months, Punjab had 87,000 hectares underneath sugarcane and the mills had crushed 641 lakh quintals. The federal government has introduced the State Suggested Value (SAP) of Rs 345, Rs 350 and Rs 360 per quintal for early, mid and late maturing crop, respectively. Throughout 2021-22, sugarcane farmers had been to be paid a complete of Rs 2,307 crore. They had been, nevertheless, paid solely Rs 1,400 crore.

On the finish of the 2021-22 crushing season, 16 mills – 9 cooperative and seven personal – had been but to pay farmers Rs 900 crore. Following a protest and after talks with the federal government, the mills cleared Rs 550 crore. As of now, cooperative mills owe farmers Rs 195 crore and personal mills Rs 150 crore only for final crushing season. There are farmers who’re but to obtain funds for 2019-20 and 2020-21 crushing seasons. The Phagwara mill is likely one of the largest defaulters — owing Rs 72 crore of which Rs 36 crore is from 2019-20 and 2020-21 and the remaining of the final crushing season.