LAHORE, Sept 18: Controversy has surfaced over the formation of a committee headed by National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Husain for settling the issue of payments to growers by the GB Sugar Mills, Pasrur.
The committee was formed by Punjab Food Minister Ch Iqbal a couple of days ago after the NA speaker wrote him a letter.
The provincial food department, however, maintains that such a committee cannot be formed under the Rules of Business. It is tantamount to bypassing the set procedure of recovery of growers’ money and delegation of departmental authority to “irrelevant people.”
The grower-creditors, on the other hand, term the committee formation a delaying tactic, orchestrated by the mill management by involving local politicians. The growers have been struggling to recover Rs438 million for the last eight years.
Formerly the Pasrur Sugar Mills, the GB Sugar Mills went into default in the late nineties. The present management purchased it on Feb 25, 2002 and, as part of sale agreement, did accept the growers’ liability worth Rs438 million. It also deducted the amount from the payment made to the previous management.
Banks and growers let the mill operate with the hope that once in operation, the recovery of their dues would be easy. The new management, however, started dragging its feet (on payments) on the ground that record was missing.
The growers, whose representatives visited the Dawn offices last week, maintain that the mills was bought by the present management only a year ago when it accepted the liability. “It must have scanned the relevant record before accepting such a huge liability. Now, it is only using the excuse to cheat us of our money. Even if the management does not have the record, we (the growers) do possess cane purchase receipts (CPRs).”
With approaching crushing season and mounting pressure from the growers, the management involved local politicians to what it says settle the issue.
On Aug 25, NA Speaker Ch Amir Hussain wrote a letter — F.1(1)/2003/S(vol-II — to the Punjab food minister, asking him to notify a committee, proposed by the mills management and seconded by the speaker, to look into the matter of payments to the growers.
The speaker recommended the names of members as well — headed by the speaker himself, the team would include Ch Akhtar Hussain, Punjab Labour Minister and another politician from the area, Pasrur Nazim and three employees of the GB Sugar Mills.
Food minister Ch Iqbal formed the committee on Thursday last and informed the speaker through a letter.
Sources in the Food Department, however, said that under the rule of business neither the speaker could ask for such a committee nor the minister could oblige him. “It is interference in a provincial matter which the speaker cannot do. He can certainly point out the problem in his constituency and tell the department to look into the matter. But, under no circumstances, he can ask the department to delegate him powers of the cane commissioner, as he seems to have done in this case,” they confide. The growers, on their part, maintain the sole purpose of the committee is to delay the payments. “The one-sided composition of the committee speaks for itself. It does not include any growers’ representative nor the cane commissioner office nor district officers responsible for recovering farmers’ dues. A self-serving team of people has been proposed by the management with local politicians falling in line. The whole procedure stinks,” they claimed.
Setting aside their apprehensions, food minister Ch Iqbal said that committee had been formed to facilitate payments. “If it fails to do the needful, it will automatically lose its rationale.”
The minister admitted that the committee had no legal value as the cane commissioner office was solely responsible for the recovery of the growers’ dues.
The owner of the GB Sugar Mills was out of the country and was not available for comments.
