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Kolhapur: Sugar season in Maharashtra comes to an end but still sugarcane arrears in Maharashtra stand at Rs 2,942.26 crore as on May 15.
According to the report from Sugarcane Commissioner’s Office, 195 sugar mills in the state have crushed 952.2 lakh tonne of cane to produce 107.19 lakh tonne of sugar. While the mills have already paid Rs 19,567.02 crore FRP (Fair and Remunerative Price), which is 88 per cent of the total arrears, they still have 2942.26 crores left to pay.
51 sugar mills have paid 100 per cent FRP, whereas 85 factories deposited 80 to 99 per cent FRP in a farmers bank account. 36 sugar mills paid 60 to 79 per cent cane arrears, and 23 factories cleared 0 to 60 per cent cane dues.
The Maharashtra sugar commissioner has slapped Revenue Recovery Certificates (RRCs) notices on 68 sugar mills that have failed to pay an FRP to farmers and warned of seizure action.
The Sugarcane Control Order of 1966 mandates payment of the FRP to the growers within 14 days of delivery of cane and 15 per cent interest on it if they fail to adhere to the timeline. Millers have been saying that excess sugar production and depressed domestic sugar prices have led to an accumulation of cane price arrears.
