Maharashtra: Rohit Pawar-linked Baramati Agro Limited sugar factory fined 4.5 lakh

PUNE: State sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad has imposed a Rs4.5 lakh fine on the Baramati Agro Limited sugar factory linked to NCP MLA Rohit Pawar on technical grounds.
As per the complaint, the latter let sugar cane vehicles move into the factory before the official designated start date of the sugar cane crushing season.
The complaint in this regard was lodged by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Ram Shinde, whom Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, had defeated in the 2019 assembly polls to become an MLA for the first time.
When contacted on call for his version, Rohit Pawar’s assistant told TOI on Thursday that he (Rohit) was busy in a meeting with Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and would call back once free. However, there was no response from Rohit Pawar or his assistant till the time of going to press.
After becoming an MLC, Shinde had raised the issue in the Maharashtra Legislative Council in March this year, alleging that the sugar commissioner was dragging his feet on taking action against the factory linked to Rohit Pawar.
Shinde alleged that despite the state government’s order that no sugar factory should start the crushing of sugar cane before the designated date, Baramati Agro Ltd sugar factory had done so.
An FIR in this case has already been registered with the Bhigwan police in rural Pune. Based on Shinde’s complaint, Gaikwad had initiated the inquiry against the sugar factory and he has now imposed a fine of Rs4.5 lakh on the factory.
“There was no conclusive evidence that could establish that the crushing process had started at the factory before the designated date. However, 92 tractors carrying around 800-900 metric tonne of sugar cane were found parked in the cane yard of the factory,” Gaikwad said.
When any tractor enters a sugar factory, the weight of sugar cane is measured and a receipt given to the farmer mentioning the weight. However, in this case, no such records of the 92 tractors were found. “The sugar factory office-bearers failed to produce records of the weight measured of the sugar cane, which entered into the caneyards. Therefore, on technical grounds, a fine of Rs4.5 lakh has been imposed on the factory,” Gaikwad said.