Haryana converts sugar mill loans into share capital

Chandigarh, Apr 11 (UNI) Haryana Government has decided to convert a loan of Rs 365 crore pending towards the sugar mills into share capital besides waiving off their interest amount of Rs 153 crore for improving the financial condition of these mills, Agriculture Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said here today.

Except for two mills at Shahbad and Karnal, the remaining mills of the state did not have a sound financial condition and were unable to clear payment of farmers on time. To save the farmers from the inconvenience of delayed payment, the state government had extended financial help to the mills, he said.

He said there were 15 sugar mills with a total crushing capacity of 44,550 tonnes per day in operation in the state. Out of these, 12 sugar mills were in the cooperative sector and the remaining three namely Yamunanagar, Bhadson, and Naraingarh in private sector.

He said the sugar mills at Sirsa and Bhuna could not start crushing operations during the season 2004-05 due to non availability of sugarcane in their assigned area.

In view of this, both these mills were under winding up and liquidation process.

However, to save the interests of the employees and farmers, the cooperative sugar mills Bhuna had been sold to a private entrepreneur with the condition that the buyer of the mill would retain the entire staff, permanent as well as seasonal and purchase and crush the cane of the assigned area of the mill at the cane price fixed by the state government.

He said that similarly, the permanent staff of the Sirsa sugar mill was being adjusted in other cooperative sugar mills and institutions. As the production of sugar in the Sirsa area was negligible, the farmers were not facing any problem in disposal of their crop, he added.

UNI