Pune: The National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has approved loans worth about Rs 798.40 crore to six sugar mills in Maharashtra as margin money for working capital, bringing relief to the sector, Pudhari reported.
Officials said the approval has provided a boost to the concerned mills. The beneficiaries include three mills from Kolhapur and one each from Sangli, Ahilyanagar, and Beed districts. At the same time, around eight sugar mills are still waiting for loan approvals worth nearly Rs 1,852 crore.
Earlier, NCDC had extended loans of about Rs 4,355 crore to 32 sugar mills in the state. During a review, concerns were raised over whether the funds were being used for the intended purposes. Following this, NCDC sought a report from the state government and held back further approvals for 14 mills with pending proposals worth Rs 2,650.54 crore.
Sources in the Sugar Commissionerate said that after the state submitted its report clarifying that there were no serious issues, loans have now been cleared for six mills with complete proposals.
The mills that have received loan approval include Shri Bhogawati Cooperative Sugar Factory in Karveer, Kolhapur (Rs 114 crore), Shri Doodhganga Vedganga Cooperative Sugar Factory in Bidri, Kolhapur (Rs 267.80 crore), Tatyasaheb Kore Warana Cooperative Sugar Factory in Panhala, Kolhapur (Rs 139.63 crore), Kranti Kundal Dr. G.D. Lad Cooperative Sugar Factory in Palus, Sangli (Rs 72.56 crore), Mula Cooperative Sugar Factory in Newasa, Ahilyanagar (Rs 180.20 crore), and Loknete Sundarrao Solunke Cooperative Sugar Factory in Dharur, Beed (Rs 30.21 crore).
Meanwhile, loan proposals of eight mills remain pending due to various issues. Officials said that some mills did not meet the requirement of completing at least three crushing seasons in the last five years, while others have outstanding loans with the state cooperative bank backed by government guarantees. In some cases, the absence of required industrial approvals has also delayed the process.
The mills still awaiting approval include Shri Rameshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Bhokardan, Ajinkyatara Cooperative Sugar Factory in Satara, Vitthalsai Cooperative Sugar Factory in Umarga, Raosaheb Pawar Ghodganga Cooperative Sugar Factory in Shirur, Pune, Siddheshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Kumthe, Solapur, Karmayogi Kundalikrao Ramrao Patil Kukadi Cooperative Sugar Factory in Pimpalgaon, Ahilyanagar, Shri Chhatrapati Cooperative Sugar Factory in Bhavaninagar, Indapur, Pune, and Rajgad Cooperative Sugar Factory in Bhor, Pune.
Together, these eight mills are awaiting loan approvals worth about Rs 1,852.14 crore from NCDC.
