Chandigarh, May 25:
In accordance with the directions of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, the Cooperative sugar mills have released the balance amount of Rs. 100 crore due towards the cane growers for the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 and the same would be credited into their accounts today itself.
Disclosing this, the Cooperation Minister S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the Punjab Government has released the aforesaid amount at its own level despite the Union Government withholding Rs. 31 crore for export subsidy and Rs. 10 crore buffer stock subsidy of the cooperative sugar mills pertaining to the year 2019-20. “Efforts are being made to ensure early release of these subsidies by taking up the matter with the Union Government”, said the Cooperation Minister.
Divulging more, the Minister said that the State Government is fully committed to the welfare of farming sector which is evident from the budgetary provision of Rs. 300 crore in 2021-22 budget.
Likewise, the State Government is undertaking measures to increase the income of cane growers and as part of this, the cooperative sugar mills have provided as many as 16 lakh saplings of high yielding varieties of sugarcane to the cane growers with the active assistance of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana and Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Karnal Centre.
“Not only this would lead to increase in per acre yield of sugarcane but the per acre income of the cane growers would also witness an exponential climb”, said S. Randhawa adding Guru Nanak Dev Research Centre at Kalanaur has been established with a 15 acre seed farm as part of the plan to raise the standard of living of farmers.
