Punjab Food Minister Nadeem Kamran has directed the sugar mill owners to ensure payment of dues of Rs 1.99 billion to sugarcane growers by July 31, and warned that strict action will be taken against those failing to pay.
The minister said this while presiding over a meeting on Tuesday to discuss payments to sugarcane growers which was also attended by Provincial Minister for Finance Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, Minister for Agriculture Ahmad Ali Aulakh, Secretary Food Iftikhar Ahmad, Secretary Agriculture Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Chairman Sugar Mills Association Zaka Ashraf, Member Sugarcane Board Punjab Hidayat Baig, Cane Commissioner Punjab Shahid Husnain.
It reported that some sugar mill owners had failed to pay to the cultivators even for the sugarcane purchased last year. The minister then told the Sugar Mills Association chairman to ensure payment of dues by sugar millers. He said that a special meeting of all such sugar mill owners will be convened and the matters regarding payment of dues should be settled for ensuring 100 percent payments to sugarcane growers.
He said either sugar mill owners themselves should attend this meeting or send their representatives. Nadeem appreciated 21 sugar mills which have made 100 percent payment to the sugarcane growers and asked others to follow their example. Sources said that another round of talks would be held in Punjab Secretariat on July 16 with the defaulting mills to settle the issue within the given time.