Sugar mills owe growers Rs107m from last season

District committees formed to monitor cane purchase.

LAHORE: Growers have started sugarcane crushing half-heartedly this season as they are still waiting for previous year’s dues of Rs107 million to be cleared by sugar mills in Punjab, documents reveal.

Moreover, Punjab Cane Commissioner Usman Anwar claimed that more than Rs131 billion has already been paid to the growers as cane cost by sugar mills in crushing season 2010-11.

To ensure payment of the remaining amount, Punjab has constituted sugarcane purchase, monitoring and examining committees across the province at district level, according to the documents.

The committees will be led by district coordination officers or additional cane commissioner and comprise assistant commissioner, ex-officio inspector concerned, representatives of growers, district police office, district labour office and any other person nominated by the Punjab cane commissioner.

The district purchase, monitoring and examining committees will ensure that only licensed purchase centres operate, according to a notification.

It will be ensured that scales at purchase centres are tested at least twice a week to check whether all legal requirements are adhered to during the purchase of sugarcane.

These committees will also ensure registration of FIRs against illegal weighbridges and unauthorised middlemen.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th,  2011.