Karnataka sugar factories owe cane farmers Rs 450 crore

BELAGAVI: Even as lakhs of sugarcane growers from across the state supplied their produce in abundance to all the 64 sugar factories in the state during the last crushing season (from July, 2020 to June 2021), the factories are yet to clear their pending bills to the tune of Rs 450 crore. The factories haven’t cleared the bills even after knowing that the latter are in a crisis due to the pandemic for the last one year.

Several sugarcane leaders have urged the government to help release all their pending dues and said that the government should seize all the sugar produced by factories that haven’t cleared pending dues, and auction it immediately.A sugarcane grower and leader Shashikant Joshi said, “As per the Sugarcane Control Act of 1966, the factories must settle the bills within 14 days of receiving the sugarcane in the factories. In case there is any delay in the payment, the factories are supposed to clear the bills along with a 15 per cent rate of interest on the total bill.’’

As per the government records, the factories owed Rs 450 crore to the cane growers as on May 31 this year. Among the factories which owed huge bills to the growers include Athani Sugars (Rs 40 crore), Satish Sugars (Rs 31 crore), Belgaum Sugars (Rs 19 crore), Malaprabha Sugar Factory (Rs 24 crore), Bilagi Sugar Mill (Rs 24 crore), Godhavari Sugars Ltd (Rs 19 crore), Nirani Sugars Ltd (Rs 28 crore), Prabhulingeshwara Sugars (Rs 22 crore), Shri Sai Priya Sugars Ltd (Rs 48 crore), Bhalkeshwar Sugars Ltd (Rs 17 crore), Bidar Kissan Shakkar Karkhana Ltd (Rs 18 crore), Shri Basaveshwara Sugars Ltd (Rs 43 crore), Shree Bhimashankar Sahakari Sakkare Karkhane Niyamit (Rs 20 crore), Coregreen Sugar and Fuels (Rs 33 crore).

The total arrears from Belagavi district where 25 sugar factories produce a major chunk of sugar produced in the entire state, is Rs 149 crore as of now for the above said crushing season. According to sources, 25 sugar factories from Belagavi crushed about 1.80 crore metric tonnes of cane out of the total of 4 crore tonnes crushed in all in the state for the last season.

Shashikant said instead of helping the growers, the government too had been in favour of the factory management, he added. Several growers, including Shivangouda Patil from Belagavi object to the shifting of the office of Sugar Commissioner from Belagavi to Bengaluru recently. “As North Karnataka’s factories crush the major portion of cane and produce sugar in large quantities, the government should ensure that the office operates from North Karnataka and not Bengaluru,’’ he added.Recently, Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol said in Belagavi that he would get information about the pending dues and ask the DCs to issue directions to all the factories to clear it.