Kolhapur: The state sugar commissionerate has taken legal action against 15 sugar mills by issuing Revenue Recovery Certificates (RRC) for failing to pay sugarcane farmers the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP).
The details comes from a bi-weekly report submitted to the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution. The RRC is a legal instrument the sugar commissioner's office uses to ensure farmers receive their dues promptly.
According to the Sugarcane (Control) Order of 1966, mills are legally obligated to pay the FRP within 14 days of can crushing. The RRC empowers district authorities to recover these outstanding payments through auctioning sugar stocks and seizing assets.
For the current 2024-25 crushing season, 200 sugar factories across Maharashtra have collectively crushed approximately 85 tonnes of sugar cane. Of the total FRP due, which amounts to Rs22,732 crore (excluding harvesting and transportation costs), Rs752 crore is yet to be paid to farmers.
A senior official from the sugar commissioner's office, while talking to TOI, said while 125 factories have paid 100% of the FRP, 21 factories have paid less than 60%. The office has directed local authorities to engage with these mills to expedite the payment process. Notably, some mills, particularly those in Kolhapur, pay farmers more than the stipulated FRP, which is determined by the sugar recovery rate.
Currently, only one factory has crushing operations ongoing. "The cane crushing was started late and the mill is crushing at a rate of 6,000 tonnes per day. It is located in Pune district and may end crushing in a few days, following which, officially, the crushing season will end," said the official.
In the current season, 80.8 lakh tonnes of sugar has been produced after crushing 852 lakh tonnes of sugar cane. In comparison to last season, there is a dip in sugar production. Around 1,100 lakh tonnes of sugar was produced then. The sugar recovery rate has also dipped from 10.25% in 2023-24 to 9.48% in the ongoing season.
