This story is from June 2, 2020

Congress Rajya Sabha MP writes to Punjab CM over pending dues to sugarcane farmers

Partap Singh Bajwa was on Tuesday joined by three of his party MLAs from Punjab in writing to chief minister Amarinder Singh to raise the issue of delay in payment to sugarcane farmers in the state.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP writes to Punjab CM over pending dues to sugarcane farmers
Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa
CHANDIGARH: Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa was on Tuesday joined by three of his party MLAs from Punjab in writing to chief minister Amarinder Singh to raise the issue of delay in payment to sugarcane farmers in the state.
Bajwa accused his party’s government in the state of not taking concrete steps to ensure the outstanding payment of Rs 681 crore to sugarcane growers in Punjab.
“I would like to draw your attention towards non-payment of dues to about 70,000 sugarcane growing farmer families.
It is a major lapse of the government where sugar mills could break the rules and not face any punishment. I urge that the state government makes all pending payments to the eligible farmers,” said Bajwa, adding that otherwise the state stared at 20% reduction in sugarcane cultivation next year that would have ‘disastrous consequences’ for the economy of Punjab.
Bajwa added that the farmers sold their produce to private and cooperative sugar mills in Punjab. The unpaid amount for 2018-19 was Rs 96.36 crore and that for 2019-20 was Rs 585.12 crore. “the government has taken no concrete steps to ensure that these payments are paid to farmers. It must take steps that those who do diversification of crops are paid on time,” he said.
He added that two sugarcane mills had made payments to sugarcane farmers while the others were yet to do so resulting in ‘financial distress’ for farmers,.
Three MLAs - Fatehjung Singh Bajwa (Qadian), Balwinder Singh Laddi (Sri Hargobindpur) and Joginder Pal (Bhoa) too signed Bajwa’s letter to the CM.
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About the Author
Vibhor Mohan

Vibhor Mohan is Special Correspondent with The Times of India’s Punjab Bureau at Chandigarh. He holds post-graduate degrees in Mass Communication and English and has nearly 15 years of experience, having covered important stations in Punjab. He covers news concerning Punjab politics, NRI affairs and the power sector, besides specializing in writing on architecture, especially on the works of Le Corbusier, the man who gave India its first designed city – Chandigarh.

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