Chandigarh, September 8:
Fulfilling its another promise to the cane growers, the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday has in an unprecedented way cleared all the pending dues of the sugarcane farmers by depositing last installment of Rs 75 crore in their respective accounts.
Divulging the details, the Chief Minister said that the state Government has released Rs. 75.00 crores as payment to the sugarcane farmers on Wednesday i.e September 7, 2022 through Sugarfed, Punjab. He said that the same has been deposited in the respective accounts of the concerned sugarcane farmers today (Thursday, September 8). Bhagwant Mann said that with this, there is no outstanding dues of Sugarcane growers left against the nine Cooperative Sugar Mills at Ajnala, Batala, Budhewal, Bhogpur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Morinda, Nakodar and Nawanshahr.
The Chief Minister further said that this pending payments relates to the crushing season 2021-22 and for the first time all the dues of the farmers have been cleared. He asserted that with this payment of Rs.75 crore, the Cooperative Sugar Mills in the state have cleared all the pending arrears of cane farmers. Bhagwant Mann said that till now Rs.619.62 crores have been paid to the sugarcane farmers and nothing is left as on date.
Reiterating firm commitment of the state government to safeguard the interests of farmers, the Chief Minister said that the state government is leaving no stone unturned for it. He said that strenuous efforts are being made to make agriculture a profitable venture by supplementing the income of farmers through crop diversification. Bhagwant Mann said that his Government is making sincere efforts to ensure that in the forthcoming sugarcane season of 2022-23, no such inordinate delay takes place and farmers get the payment of their produce on time.
