Nellore:: Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy held a crucial meeting with SPSR Nellore district collector O. Anand to address pending payments to farmers and labourers and to deliberate on the future of the long-defunct Kovur Cooperative Sugar Factory.
A key outcome of the meeting was a proposal to hand over 124 acres of land belonging to the sugar factory to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for the development of an Industrial Estate. The MLA and the collector appealed to partner farmers to cooperate with the government’s decision, to which farmers' union leaders agreed.
Prashanthi Reddy said that handing over the factory land to APIIC could directly generate employment for 10,000 people and create indirect opportunities for another 20,000. Farmer union leaders and labour representatives also participated in the discussions and emphasised the need for prompt clearance of long-pending dues. The MLA urged the collector to initiate necessary steps for the swift disbursal of payments owed to farmers and workers.
It was agreed that all legal disputes concerning the factory’s reopening and related land issues, currently pending in various courts, would be resolved amicably through dialogue and mutual understanding.
During the meeting, both the MLA and union leaders acknowledged that reopening the sugar factory—which has remained non-operational for over a decade—may not be financially viable. The stakeholders concurred that alternative solutions should be explored.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Prashanthi Reddy thanked Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for promptly responding by approving the release of `28 crore in pending dues to factory workers, following her appeal in the Legislative Assembly.
She assured that the concerns and suggestions of farmer and labour union leaders regarding the factory’s future would be personally conveyed to the Chief Minister. The meeting was attended by Penna Delta Project Committee chairman Jetti Rajagopal Reddy and farmer leaders Gandavarapu Srinivasulu Reddy, Hari Reddy, Thirumuru Ashok Reddy, Jetti Ravindra Reddy, and Bezawada Vamsikrishna Reddy, among others.
