Millers told to clear cane growers' dues by month-end

Additional Cane Commissioner (ACC) has directed the sugar mills management to start clearing the dues of growers from first week of April and clear the payment of pending four weeks of February and March 2004 by the end of the current month.
The advice was given after considering the request of sugar mills management and the point of view of sugarcane growers after a meeting with representatives of growers and officials of Mirpurkhas Sugar Mills held here on Thursday here, presided over by Additional Cane Commissioner Shoukat Ali Rahimoon, who is also EDO (agriculture), Mirpurkhas.
The meeting was attended by Mansoor Ahmed Cheema, Imtiaz Ali Panhwer, Haji Mohammad Umer Bughyo, Dr Yar Mohammad Jinjhi, Mirpurkhas Sugar Mill Group Technical Director Syed Mohammad Ali Khan, Mian Abdul Ghaffar, Hyder Bux Rustamani, and others.
The Mill officials apprised the meeting that due to financial constraints their mill has not been able to pay the dues of sugarcane growers from second week of February to first week of March 2004, and now they will pay the dues of second week of February by the April 15, 2004.
They said they will also clear all the remaining dues of three weeks by the end of June 2004, adding if the situation improves due to sale of sugar or purchase by the TCP, they will pay the dues earlier than the date set by them.
Representatives of sugarcane growers insisted that the payments are due for the last two months, and the sugar mills management was legally bound to clear all the dues immediately as per provisions of Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950.
They desired that the payment of small growers with claims up to Rs 50,000 may be cleared by the mills immediately.
The additional cane commissioner emphasised that the representatives of sugar mill that they have already violated the provisions of Sugar Factories Control Act, 1950, and are liable for legal action by the growers and the government they should, therefore, take benefit of concession offered by the growers for clearing the delayed payments by the end of April 2004.
He also advised the growers to take legal course as per provisions of the Sugarcane Control Act if the mills management do not act on this advice.