Pay farmers or face action: UP govt tells sugar mills

Lucknow, Apr 12: Uttar Pradesh government has directed all the sugar mills in the state to clear cane arrears of farmers or strict action would be initiated against them.

"By the end of the last week payment of Rs 11,580 had been done to cane growers as against dues of Rs 13,000 crores. A directive has been issued by the Cane development Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui yesterday to clear cane areas at the earliest", a cane department official said today.

The minister also directed the officials to issue recovery notices to sugar mills, which delay payments to farmers for more that 14 days from the date of supply of cane, he said.

PTI