MIRPURKHAS: Hundreds of sugar cane growers were deprived of their last year’s outstanding dues from Al Abbas sugar mill and Tharparkar sugar mill in clear violation of an order of the Sindh High Court, growers have said.

Affected sugar cane growers complained to the local media that last year (2018-19) they had supplied their cane crop to the sugar mills but the mills had paid them less than official rate of Rs182 per 40 kilograms.

The farmers went to the SHC to get justice after which the court passed an order in their favour and directed the mills to pay their outstanding dues.

The Sindh cane commissioner on Dec 18 issued show-cause notices to the Al Abbas and Tharparkar sugar mills to ensure outstanding dues’ payment to the growers within three days and warned that legal action under the Sugar Factories Control Act 1950 will be taken against them in case of non-payment.

President of Sindh Abadgar Ittehad Saifullah Gill lamented that the two sugar mills had violated the directives of the SHC as they had failed to pay official price of cane at Rs182 per 40kg to growers last year. Three days since the show-cause notices of the cane commissioner had passed, but still the affected growers had not been paid their dues, they said.

When queried, an officer of the Al Abbas sugar mill refused to comment.

An official of the Tharparkar sugar mill claimed upon contact that payments were being made to the affected growers.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2019