Summary:
This amount is payable from 172 private and cooperative sugar mills. They said the retail price of sugar in the market was Rs29 per kg as against the manufacturing cost of Rs 34 per kg. In Kolhapur and Sangli disricts, all 37 sugar factories have already been told to pay the arrears with interest.Representatives of the factories in the two districts will meet on Friday to take stock of the situation. The circular states that the factories must pay FRP-based price to the farmers within 14 days of the cane being collected for crushing.Sugar factories in Maharashtra currently owe Rs 4,576 crore to the farmers this crushing season. The circular was issued after a delegation of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana met him on the issue.Gaikwad had said last week that he would remind the sugar mills of their “legal commitment” to pay arrears to the farmers.Sources in the sugar commissionerate said it was not for the first time that an order of levying interest was issued..