Cane growers slam Punjab government over delay in SAP payment
Cane growers in Punjab criticised the government for delaying the ₹61 per quintal payment promised above the ₹340 FRP. With 1.18 lakh hectares under sugarcane, farmers await the new SAP notification as ₹100 crore remains unpaid, delaying harvest and crushing operations.
Cane growers on Monday slammed the Punjab government for the delay in the release of a payment of ₹61 per quintal, which it had promised in 2024 over and above the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of ₹340 per quintal fixed by the Centre. In the current season, sugarcane was sown over 1.18 lakh hectares, particularly in districts Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur. One-third of the total area under the crop falls in the border district of Gurdaspur.
Last year, the government fixed the state advice price (SAP) of ₹401 per quintal and had promised that it would pay the difference between FRP and SAP to the farmers who had taken their produce for crushing at the six privately owned mills in the state.
In 2021, cane crushing began on November 15, in 2022 on November 20, in 2023 on November 21, and in 2024 on November 25. It needs to be mentioned that the Centre has already fixed the FRP of ₹355 per quintal, offering an increase of ₹15 per quintal over the previous year. The Haryana government has announced an SAP of ₹415, also increasing ₹15 per quintal.
The cane growers complained that the government has not issued any notification for the upcoming season, and their crop is ready for harvest.
“Farmers will start sugarcane harvest only after a notification by the government by revising the SAP,” said Sukhinder Singh, a farmer from Dasuya in Hoshiarpur.
According to the sources in the state agriculture department, the total pending payment is to the tune of ₹100 crore.
There are nine sugar mills in the cooperative sector, which are under the control of the state government’s cooperation department, and according to sources in the cooperative department, a sum of ₹779 crore has been paid to the farmers who supplied their produce in the cooperative mills. “The government is in the process of clearing its share to the owners of the private mills,” said an official in the agriculture department, pleading anonymity.
According to Jangvir Singh Chohan, state president Doaba kisan committee, the state government in the previous years has been announcing SAP by October or early November month after which the mills are started and harvest begins. “Lighting up the mills takes a week, and in my opinion, the government should review the SAP,” he demanded.
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Source : Hindustan Times
