Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed Finance Department officials to evaluate an appeal for waiving ₹52.25 crore in electricity dues owed by the State-owned Mysuru Sugar Company Ltd., commonly known as Mysugar, reports The Hindu.
MLC Dinesh Gooligowda, advocating for the waiver due to Mysugar’s poor financial condition, said that Siddaramaiah has asked the Additional Chief Secretary of the Finance Department, Government of Karnataka, to review the matter and present it to the Cabinet.
Mysugar has not paid its electricity bills for the past 25 years, resulting in an outstanding amount of ₹52.25 crore owed to Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) Limited. It has threatened to discontinue the power supply to Mysugar if the dues are not cleared. This will hamper the factory’s proposed sugarcane-crushing operations.
Gooligowda said that as Mysugar faces a financial crisis, payment of such a huge electricity bill is bound to jeopardize its working in the new season. Crushing operations of the factory are of paramount importance to many local sugarcane farmers who have no other option than depending on Mysugar for processing their produce.
The waiver of the electricity dues of Mysugar needs a Cabinet decision. The crushing operations of Mysugar were at a halt for many years but were revived last year after the Congress government evinced keen interest and sanctioned ₹50 crore to the sugar factory, including ₹35 crore as working capital.
Thanks to this financial support, Mysugar processed about 2.41 lakh tonnes of cane last year. This year also, the factory proposes to crush another 2.5 lakh tonnes, thereby strengthening the case for waiving the electricity dues in support of sugarcane farmers of the region.
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