Yamunanagar: Saraswati Sugar Mills (SSM), Yamunanagar, has started payments for sugarcane supplied during the ongoing crushing season, providing much-needed financial relief to farmers. The mill, which began operations on November 12, 2024, has so far crushed 29 lakh quintals of sugarcane, amounting to payments worth approximately Rs 116 crore.
Payment delays this year were attributed to the delayed issuance of a government notification regarding the subsidy formula for the 2024-25 season. This notification, usually issued along with the State Advised Price (SAP), was postponed, causing a hold-up in payments.
“SSM is known for timely payments to farmers and has never delayed cane price payments in the past. This year’s delay was due to a technical issue that prevented us from starting payments earlier,” said SK Sachdeva, Chief Executive of SSM.
Sachdeva confirmed that payments have now begun and that a payment schedule has been released. This decision followed assurance from Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shyam Singh Rana that the subsidy formula notification would be issued shortly.
DP Singh, Senior Vice-President (Cane) at SSM, explained, “The SAP for the 2024-25 season was set at Rs 400 per quintal, and its notification was issued along with the cane price notification for the previous season. However, the subsidy formula notification for the current season was delayed, which affected the payment timeline.”
Singh added that the new payment schedule allows for payments within 14 days. The mill has set a target to crush 160 lakh quintals of sugarcane this season, up from the 146 lakh quintals crushed last year.
Several farmer associations had voiced their concerns over the payment delay. Delegations led by Sanju Gundiana, district president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni group), Subhash Gurjar, district president of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait group), and Rambir Singh Chauhan, district president of the Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, met with the SSM management and Haryana Agriculture Minister to demand immediate action on the issue.
