By IANS,
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government Monday ordered the police to file cases against 23 sugar mills for defaulting on their payments to the state’s sugarcane farmers.
Cane and Sugar Commissioner H.S. Das has directed the district magistrates of the areas where the erring factories are located to lodge first information reports (FIRs) against them.
State cane department spokesperson A.K. Sinha told IANS that the Supreme Court, in its interim order May 15, had directed the mills to clear dues at the rate of Rs.110 per quintal by June 12. The FIRs were ordered as the deadline was not met.
In the case of Bajaj Hindustan whose 16 units will be charged, the company had paid the farmers’ dues but deducted Rs.10.58 per quintal as transportation charges. The government, however, argued that the Supreme Court had not permitted this.
The other sugar mills are Kamlapur (Sitapur district), Bilari, Agwanpur, Majhawali (Moradabad), Gadaura (Maharajganj), Gopi (Aligarh) and Padrauna (Kushinagar). Their combined dues to farmers are a staggering Rs.932.2 million.