The Supreme Court summoned owners of sugar mills tomorrow (Thursday) to effectively resolve the issue regarding non-payment to sugarcane growers.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar heard a suo motu case regarding non-payment of sugarcane price to the farmers / growers by sugar mills as well as delayed payment.
The Chief Justice said they find it expedient that the owners (not the CEOs/directors etc) of all the sugar mills in Pakistan must personally appear before the apex court at Islamabad on 26.04.2018 at 04:30pm to explain and resolve the issue.
The bench said that the court order shall be deemed to be a public notice to all the owners of the sugar mills in Pakistan for their personal appearance before the court.
The court directed the owners of mills to explain why they have not yet paid to the sugarcane farmers. Upon court's query, it was informed that there are 47 sugar mills in Punjab, 35 in Sindh and 7 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The additional advocate general filed a report regarding non-payment to farmers. The Chief Justice questioned why Punjab is taking interest in this case, while they have not been issued notice in this case.
The Chief Justice remarked if the mill owners can buy expensive houses and cars then why they can't pay the approved rate to growers. The representatives of farmers associations from Sindh and Punjab appeared before the apex court and requested the bench to appoint a commission headed by district and sessions judge to investigate why the mills owners are not paying the price [Rs 180 per 40kg] fixed by the government to sugarcane growers.
They said the commission should also investigate how much sugarcane the mills have purchased and what amount they have paid to farmers. The commission should also probe that the payment to growers should be made through banks, they demanded.
The farmers from the Sindh informed the court that the mills in their provinces have stopped purchasing sugarcane, besides the fact that tons of canes are lying in the open field. They complained that the mills purchase sugarcane through middlemen who buy it at Rs 120 to Rs 130 per 40kg, while the government had fixed the price Rs 180 per 40kg.
The growers from Sargodha said that they had sold sugarcane to Al Arazia and Ramzan Sugar Mills but they gave them receipt without mentioning the price at which they have purchased the sugarcane from them. They said the mills owners receive subsidy from the government but its benefits are not passed on to farmers.
The farmer associations' counsel informed the court that mafias in sugar industry is control everything. The government and the DCO are also involved in purchasing sugarcane below the fixed price. They demanded that accountability should be initiated against them as well. In the last four years, the growers were not paid according to the fixed price, they claimed.