HYDERABAD, Feb 5: Sugar mill owners have not paid quality premium and surcharge to growers by Jan 31, the deadline fixed by the Sindh government for the payment.

This was said by Sindh Abadgar Board president Abdul Majeed Nizamani while talking to this correspondent by telephone here on Thursday.

He said the difference of payment which was to be paid by Dec 31, 2003, was being paid now by sugar mills of upper Sindh while the same had been paid by mills of lower Sindh.

Mr Nizamani said Rs1.7 billion of the growers was outstanding against the sugar mills under the quality premium head and more than Rs130 million was outstanding against the mills under the head of surcharge.

He regretted that the Sindh government had taken no action against the mills despite they had violated its notification regarding the payment of the dues by Jan 31.

The SAB chief made it clear that there was no controversy over the payment of the quality premium and surcharge but the mill owners were delaying the payment.

He said the growers needed money for the purchase of agricultural inputs.

The general council of the board is holding an important meeting at a hotel in Sukkur on Feb 7.

Mr Nizamani said office-bearers of the Pakistan Kissan Board would also attend the meeting that would discuss issues confronting the growers.

The issues include the acute shortage of water, sugarcane cultivation, sugar industry crisis, wheat shortage, issuance of tenders for the import of wheat and country's preparedness to meet challenges of the World Trade Organization regime.

The board president said the meeting would also discuss what he called wrong agricultural policies of the government which had destroyed the agricultural economy of the country.

Answering a question, he said political leaders would also attend the meeting. However, he refused to name the politicians who were likely to attend the meeting.

He said the Sindh Abadgar Board and the Pakistan Kissan Board would also chalk out a strategy to be adopted by farmers of the country.

Mr Nizamani was critical of the procedure adopted by the government in the issuance of tenders for the import of wheat.

When contacted, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture president Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah also said no sugarcane grower had received the quality premium by Jan 31.

MUKHTIARKAR HELD: The Anti-Corruption Establishment, Kotri, on Friday arrested Mukhtiarkar Nizamuddin in the premises of the local sessions court, reports our correspondent.