Bijnor: A double whammy of pending sugar mill dues to the tune of Rs 9800 crore and skyrocketing diesel and fertilizer prices is threatening to put sugarcane farmers of Uttar Pradesh into another debt trap. Three months after the end of crushing season, as many as 119 sugar mills of the state owe around Rs 9800 crore to 35 lakh farmers. The huge dues fly in the face of the Yogi Adityanath government’s promise of clearing pending miller dues within 14 days.The farmers are also feeling “restrained” due to the monthly quota of sugar production fixed for UP and other states by the Central government in an attempt to regulate the prices of sugar. The Centre has fixed 5.5 to 6 lakh tonne sugar releasing quota for UP.Now, lakhs of farmers in western UP, considered sugar bowl of the country are waiting to get their payments from the mill owners to start preparations for the next crop crushing season due to start in last week of October.Most of the cash-strapped farmers in Bijnor claim that the delay in payment is forcing them to borrow money from banks and private lenders, which would attract extra burden of interest and put them into a debt trap.When contacted, district cane officer Yashpal Singh said, “In Bijnor, nine mills owe Rs 650 crore to the farmers. We have issued notices to all sugar mills.”Ram Avtar Singh, BKU’s state general secretary, said: “BJP had promised that all sugarcane dues of UP farmers will be cleared soon after it comes to power. Farmers brought BJP to power with a thumping majority. But, after taking over the reins of UP, Yogi Adityanath did little for the farmers. We need payment of dues on time, cheap fertilizer, fuel and electricity for irrigation. But the government failed to fulfill these demands.“Prices of diesel, electricity and fertilizers are skyrocketing while the sugarcane dues are still pending. Farmers are reeling under debt. Interest on their loans is increasing by leaps and bounds,” the BKU leader said.In August, Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mill Association (UPSMA) had sought financial assistance from the state government to clear the dues they owe to cane farmers.The state government had presented supplementary budget of a whopping Rs 34833.244 crore last month. The Adityanath-led government had tried to assuage the sentiments of the cane farmers by making a budgetary allocation to clear the dues. A demand of about Rs. 5,535 crore was made in the budget for the payment of cane dues of 2016-17 and 2017-18 sugar seasons.There are 119 sugar mills in UP, of which the bulk of 91 belong to the private sector, followed by cooperative sector at 24. There are around 40 lakh farmers registered in the state and out of these 35 lakh supply their crop straight to the mills.When contacted, UP cane minister Suresh Rana said: “Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath are concerned about the grievances of the farmers and they are doing their best to address the sugarcane dues. The state government has made a proposal of Rs 5,535 crore in the budget to clear sugarcane dues of the farmers. We will provide soft loans to the mill owners and will give a subsidy of Rs 4.5 per/ quintal sugarcane to all the mills. The government has decided to get the dues cleared by the end of October. I hope that Rs 5,535 crore will be given in this month.”

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