New Delhi: Sugarcane farmers are yet to receive the cane dues of Rs 16,883 crore till January 31 for the on-going marketing year that began in October. The information was tabled in Rajya Sabha by the Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a query.
“The payment of cane bills to the cane farmers is a continuous process,” he said.
The cane dues payable to the cane farmers for the sugar season 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 were Rs 85,179 crore, Rs 86,723 crore and Rs 75,845 crore respectively.
“Several measures taken by the government has helped in reducing the cane dues to farmers to Rs 199 crore, Rs 410 crore and Rs 766 crore for the crushing season 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively,” he said.
The sugarcane dues for 2020-21 season amount to Rs 16,883 crore till January 31, he said.
Sugar mills of Uttar Pradesh owed Rs 7,555.09 crore, followed by Karnataka at Rs 3,585.18 crore and Maharashtra at Rs 2,030.31 crore, the data showed.
