Summary:
Sugar mills in the state have blamed banking bottlenecks for the slow disbursal of soft loans to clear cane dues. But to date, banks had sanctioned loans worth Rs 838 crore of which only Rs 299 crore had been disbursed in actuals. AdvertisingOfficials of the sugar commissionerate said their office cleared proposals for disbursal of loans worth Rs 3,314 crore. Concerned over rising cane dues, the central government had announced a soft loan scheme of Rs 10,500 crore to help mills pay their farmers. The scheme was to see mills availing loans at seven to 10 per cent interest for a year..