Kolhapur: Farmers’ leader Raju Shetti has claimed that even after 40 days of the current sugarcane crushing season, 129 sugar mills in Maharashtra have not cleared fair and remunerative price (FRP) dues amounting to Rs. 2,005 crore, reports The Times of India.
In a letter sent to the State Sugar Commissioner’s office on November 1, Shetti urged authorities to recover the pending FRP amounts from these mills and ensure that farmers are paid.
By November 15, the mills had crushed 1.1 crore tonnes of sugarcane. Of the total, 34 sugar mills had paid 100% of the FRP, while 129 mills still owed farmers their dues. As per the rules, mills are required to make FRP payments within 15 days of crushing the cane.
“It is compulsory to pay the full FRP amount within two weeks. We fought in court to bring back the rule of one-time FRP payment after the government allowed mills to pay in instalments. The mills try to avoid this responsibility, but every farmer has the right to receive the entire FRP at once so he can start preparing for the next season,” Shetti said.
