MUZAFFARGARH: Sugarcane growers in the district rail at a mill and the district administration for being indifferent to their financial problems triggered by alleged denial of dues.

A number of farmers have been complaining about delay in payment of dues for the last 10 months.

Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mill, which is owned by an influential family of Punjab, has to pay Rs180 million to the farmers for the last one year and its administration turns down the growers every time they plead for payment of their dues.

Mill allegedly owes Rs180m

The mill chief accountant, A.B. Shaheen, claims that the payments will begin on Oct 26 and the crushing season will be on Nov 18. The farmers, however, say the mill authorities keep extending date and they have spent two Eids without money.

Ahmad Shah told this correspondent that he had cultivated sugarcane over 10 acre and cotton over five acre last year. Unfortunately, he said, the cotton crop was damaged by diseases and the prime minister had announced relief package for farmers (Rs5,000 per acre) which was partially implemented.

He said when he contacted the sugar mill, he was denied payment against the crop.

Mr Shah said he also took up the matter with the district administration but he was shocked to learn that no official had the authority to check any irregularity at the mill. He said the new crushing season would begin after 25 days or so.

The mill allegedly started construction in Muzaffargarh despite having no NOC two years ago and work remained in progress despite a Lahore High Court’s Multan Bench stay order against the construction or shifting of mill to Jatoi Tehsil, about 80 kilometres away from the city.

The administrations of Fatima Sugar Mills and Tandlianwala Sugar Mills had challenged its shifting in court arguing that the Punjab government had imposed a ban on the establishment of new sugar mill and shifting of existing sugar mill to any other district vide notification No AEA-111-3-5/2003(vol-111) of Dec 6, 2006 and further reported as PLD 2001 Lahore 506 and PLD 2013 Lahore 528.

Various sugar mills applied for shifting of their existing places to other districts and their requests were rejected on the basis of the ban.

Dawn learnt that during the construction, the mill had the board of “Fish Farm” and no district government official was allowed to visit the construction site.

Local lawyers say the Supreme Court should take notice of illegal construction.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2016