Tirupati: Chittoor district collector D. Sumit Kumar has directed officials to approach the National Company Law Tribunal in Hyderabad to start legal action against Netams Sugars Private Limited in Nindra mandal to recover pending payments of ₹35.92 crore to farmers and about ₹13 crore to factory workers, Deccan Chronicle reported.
The decision was taken during a review meeting held at the collectorate on Sunday. The meeting focused on recovering money owed to sugarcane farmers and employees of the factory, which has remained shut for several years.
Officials informed the meeting that the factory owes about Rs 35.92 crore to farmers and nearly Rs 13 crore to workers. The collector asked officials to speed up the legal process so that the money can be recovered and paid to the affected farmers and employees at the earliest.
The issue has been a major concern in the area for nearly five years. Farmers and workers have been demanding their pending payments since the factory stopped operations without clearing their dues.
Earlier reports also indicated that the factory owes nearly Rs 60 crore to a finance company. With this, the total liabilities of the factory have crossed Rs 100 crore.
The dispute had earlier led to protests by farmers when the finance company proposed auctioning the factory’s assets to recover its loan. Farmers opposed the move and said the auction should not go ahead until their dues were cleared.
Leaders of the Nethaji Sugarcane Farmers’ Association, including Adinarayana Reddy and Srinivasulu Yadav, had organised protests demanding government intervention.
During the meeting, the collector said the matter would also be brought to the notice of the government. He asked officials from all concerned departments to work together to recover the pending amounts and ensure that farmers and workers receive their payments.
District Sugar Factory Commissioner G. Muthyalu, farmers’ leaders Adinarayana Reddy and Srinivasulu, employees’ union leaders Bhaskar Reddy and Sampath Kumar, along with officials, farmers and workers, attended the meeting.
