Lucknow
To help the sugar sector tide over market fluctuations and farm arrears, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government has provided a bailout package of more than Rs 5,500 crore to the state sugar mills in the last three years.
A major portion of these funds was injected in the form of credit to help mills, both public and private sector, settle sugarcane price arrears.
According to the UP government, credit worth Rs 2,916 crore was extended to 53 private sector mills under the special scheme to give financial assistance as loans on simple interest.
The state provided additional relief of Rs 4.50 per quintal to mills during the crushing season, which totalled Rs 484 crore, the government informed the UP legislative assembly on Aug 18 in reply to a question regarding financial assistance to sugar mills in the last three years.
Similarly, the UP State Sugar Corporation Limited (UPSSCL) was given credit assistance of Rs 23 crore and Rs 25 crore in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively for settling farmers’ outstanding payments.
Besides, the UP Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation was provided credit windows of Rs 885 crore, Rs 700 crore and Rs 500 crore in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively for paying farmers for the supply of cane to mills. Of the nearly 120 sugar mills in UP, the private and the cooperative sector account for 94 and 24 units respectively, while the UPSSCL operates two mills in the state.
Meanwhile, the Yogi Adityanath government has tabled a supplementary budget of more than Rs 7,300 crore in the state legislature for the current financial year 2021-22 to meet additional expenditure in the crucial election year.
The budget presented by UP finance minister Suresh Khanna in the presence of the chief minister amounted to about 1.33 percent of the UP Annual Budget 2021-22 of Rs 5.50 trillion presented on February 22, 2021.