Phagwara: The district administration has decided to sell the attached property of Phagwara Sugar Mills to pay the arrears of farmers. The decision was taken after the mill failed to pay Rs 40.75 crore in arrears to farmers, reported Tribune India.
A seven-member price fixation committee has been formed to recommend market rates for the attached property after completing a detailed survey within 15 days. The committee is headed by Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Captain Karnail Singh and includes Phagwara SDM Jai Inder Singh, Hoshiarpur MP and Union Minister Som Parkash, Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal, Block Samiti Chairman, and District Revenue Officer. Two representatives of the farmers will also be invited to the meetings of the committee.
The DC has also instructed Phagwara Tehsildar Baljinder Singh to ensure the inclusion of two representatives of farmers and submit market rates of the said attached properties.
Notably, Satnam Singh Sahni, the General Secretary of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba), issued a stern warning to the administration, indicating that sugarcane crushing operations at the mill would not resume until the outstanding arrears were disbursed. In response to the situation, the Deputy Commissioner has also communicated with the Financial Commissioner (Development), urging the formation of a committee to either manage the sugar mill or make alternative arrangements for sugarcane crushing at a nearby facility.
