Chandigarh: Punjab’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Gurmeet Singh Khudian, stated on Thursday that the outstanding dues amounting to approximately Rs 41 crore owed to sugarcane farmers in the Doaba region by Golden Sandhar Mills Limited in Phagwara will be settled by March 31, 2024, reported Daily Pioneer.
In a directive to Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Karnail Singh, the Minister mandated the immediate payment of Rs 9.72 crore to the farmers by the current mill owner. Furthermore, he stipulated the first instalment of around Rs two crore should be paid before starting of the cane crushing season this year. In addition, the Minister urged the Deputy Commissioner to expedite the process of attaching properties belonging to the defaulting owners of Golden Sandhar Mills to facilitate the complete settlement of outstanding dues to the cane farmers by the aforementioned deadline.
These directives were issued during a prolonged meeting conducted by the Minister, wherein he engaged with sugarcane farmers, including BKU (Doaba) President Manjit Singh Rai and BKU (Lakhowal) President Harinder Singh, on Thursday. The Minister was accompanied by Special Chief Secretary (Agriculture) KAP Sinha and Inspector General of Police (IG), Intelligence, Jaskaran Singh, among others.
The Minister also instructed the relevant authorities to promptly unseal the mill, which had been closed for several days due to protests, to ensure necessary repairs are carried out to make it operational before the commencement of this year’s crushing season.
Emphasizing the Punjab Government’s unwavering dedication to safeguarding the interests of the state’s farmers, the Minister unequivocally affirmed that no entity would be permitted to exploit the farmers.
