Nellore: The state government’s decision to hand over the land of the long-closed Kovur Cooperative Sugar Factory to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) has sparked strong opposition from local sugarcane farmers, reported The Hindu.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently directed officials in SPSR Nellore district to transfer 124 acres of the factory’s land to APIIC for industrial development. In response, members of the Sugarcane Farmers’ Association (SFA) have voiced serious concerns, saying the move would hurt the livelihood of thousands of farmers and workers who once relied on the factory.
The Kovur Cooperative Sugar Factory had played a major role in supporting farmers across 15 mandals in the Kovur, Kavali, and Nellore Rural constituencies. Though the factory has remained shut for 13 years due to financial troubles, local farmers have consistently called for its reopening.
“For years, leaders from both ruling and opposition parties have promised to reopen the factory if elected. But after every election, efforts are made to sell the factory land at throwaway prices. We even got court orders to stop those sales,” said Billa Raghuramaiah, president of the SFA Nellore district unit.
He also recalled that YSRCP chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy pledged to reopen the factory during the 2019 elections, and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu made a similar promise during the recent 2024 polls. “Now, instead of fulfilling that promise, the land is being handed over to the APIIC,” he said.
SFA district secretary Gandavarapu Srinivasulu questioned the need to give away the sugar factory’s land when several industrial plots in the district are still vacant. “This land will benefit private companies, not the farmers. The government is ready to offer land to wealthy investors at low prices but ignores the needs of poor farmers,” he said.
According to the SFA, around 10,000 people were directly or indirectly dependent on the sugar factory. Since its closure, about 3,600 local farmers have switched to growing paddy, but many still hope for the factory’s revival. Leaders argue that the site is well-suited for operations, with access to resources and infrastructure already in place.
The SFA has called on all shareholders, farmers, and concerned citizens to attend a public meeting at the factory premises on April 24 to discuss their next steps. Leaders from state and national sugarcane farmers’ groups, including All India Sugarcane Farmers Association general secretary Ravindran and A.P. Sugarcane Farmers Association secretary Suryanarayana, are expected to attend.
