Sugar factories in Tamil Nadu have built up Rs. 846.69 crore in arrears as on May 15, landing thousands of sugarcane growers in a grave crisis, according to R.V. Giri, general secretary, Consortium of Indian Farmers’ Association.
He told The Hindu that farmers had to take loans. These problems could be resolved if the factories stuck to the mandated payment structure and schedule.
“There are 45 sugar factories in the cooperative (16), public (two) and private (27) sectors, and the defaulting factories are spread across all the three,” Mr. Giri said.
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The arrears in each sector were the cooperative sector — Rs. 136.25 crore, the public sector — Rs. 17.32 crore and the private sector — Rs. 692.12. For the 2013-14 sugar season, the State government had fixed a State Advisory Price (SAP) for cane at Rs. 2,650 a tonne, including Rs.100 a tonne in transport charges. But private factories were paying the price ranging from Rs. 2,100 to Rs. 2,250, far below the SAP. Even this was paid after the stipulated 14 days after cane supply.
Furthermore, several factories had wound up the crushing season, Mr. Giri said. When the authorities were told of such state of affairs, they advised the farmers to supply to those factories that made them regular payment. Such suggestion was in violation of the Sugar Control Order, 1966, because for every factory a particular area/region under sugarcane had been demarcated.