HYDERABAD, Nov 11: Seven out of 30 sugar mills of the province owned by influential businessmen have once again flouted with complete impunity the date for crushing, which the government had fixed after consulting the mills’ own representative body, PSMA.
The mills had thus exposed themselves to legal action for violation of section 8 of the Sugar Factories Control Act, according to an official.
According to Sindh Cane Commissioner Nazeer Jamali, the mills which failed to begin crushing by 12pm Monday are: Ansari, Ghotki, Kiran, Najma, Naudero, Abadgar and Tando Mohammad Khan sugar mills.
The rest of 23 mills had already ignited their boilers, which marked the commencement of crushing season in the province, he said.
When asked whether action would be taken against the mills which had not yet lit their boilers, he said that he had asked cane inspectors to file complaints in next few days at the concerned courts of civil judges and judicial magistrates.
“I don’t know why the government doesn’t put its foot down and enforce its writ by taking action against the millers for not beginning crushing in accordance with the date notified with their due consultation,” said an official.
Besides, the millers’ representative body Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) seems to have put the issue of growers’ dues on the backburner.
This year the government had itself fixed Nov 10 for the start of crushing season to avoid embarrassment it had to face every year by fixing cane crushing date in October.
But the chairman of the Sindh chapter of PSMA Wajid Arain disclosed over phone that it had been decided earlier that the crushing would begin between Nov 10 and 15.
“I hope that by Nov 15, 90 per cent of mills will begin crushing. There are different problems related to mills’ paraphernalia and logistics which cause some delay,” Mr Arain said.
The growers on the other hand were pressing the cane commissioner’s office for payment of dues estimated by secretary of agriculture at around Rs800 million for the last cane season of 2007-08.
According to cane commissioner, his office has calculated dues of Rs820 million taking into account cane’s per 40kg rate of Rs63, which was announced by the government after Jan 21 after the millers refused to offer Rs67 per 40kg.
The growers are reluctant to file cases against mills to get back dues because they believe that the matter will linger on in courts with no immediate relief in sight.
An official source said that in the last meeting held in Karachi, the millers had vowed to clear growers’ dues but again they had started dragging feet on the issue.
“The millers have been told that they should at least calculate last year’s dues at the rate of Rs63 per 40 kg and pay off the amount,” said the source.
The source believed cane prices would escalate when crushing would be at its peak and mills would compete with other for more cane.
The cane commissioner said that his office had asked concerned district officers of revenue for attachment of immovable property of Pangrio, Najma, Tharparkar, Seri and Kiran sugar mills for failing to deposit sugar cess in the government treasury. The cess ran into millions of rupees, he added.
“The issue is still pending and the mills are not paying cess which has been fixed at around 0.50 paisa per 40 kg sugarcane,” Jamali added.
The amount collected under sugar cess by the government is spent in the area where sugarcane is cultivated and is normally disbursed by the finance department through district governments.