HYDERABAD, Feb 17: The Sindh cane commissioner is reported to have issued final notices to nine sugar mills of the province for failing to pay dues of the growers for the last year.
Sources told this correspondent that according to a government notification, the mills had to make payment of Rs3 per 40kg of sugarcane as difference between the fixed and paid price of sugarcane by Dec 31, 2003, but they were reluctant to make the payment.
Similarly, the mills were also required to pay Rs1.7 billion to the growers as quality premium by Jan 31, 2004, but they had failed to clear those dues also.
Sources said that the cane commissioner had issued notices to the defaulting mills for the payment of last year's dues on more than one occasion but without any results which prompted him to issue final notices to nine defaulting mills.
The cane commissioner has warned that legal action would be taken against the defaulting mills under the Sindh Sugarcane Control Act if the arrears were not paid. However, no final date for the payment of dues had been fixed, sources said. They further said that the mill owners had flatly refused to pay the amount of quality premium as, according to them, the matter was subjudice and talks were also going on with the federal government on the issue.
The mill owners have reportedly demanded that their sugar stock should be purchased through the Trading Corporation of Pakistan. Sources said that the sugar mill management's were also insisting to end the crushing season before time on the pretext of low recovery of sucrose. However, the cane commissioner has rejected the demand and directed the mills to continue the crushing up to April 15 as only 60 per cent of the crop had been crushed so far.
Sources further said that since the start of crushing season on Nov 30, 2003, the mills had crushed 5,243,630 tonnes of sugarcane and produced 451,018 tonnes of sugar.
DEMO: Sindh Paramedical Staff Welfare Association organized a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Tuesday against the non-acceptance of its demands.
Speaking on the occasion, the president of the association, Mohammad Musharraf, demanded that working of the government hospitals should be improved, demands of paramedical staff should be accepted and the Karachi body of the association should be restored.
He said that the association was the biggest NGO of hospitals but its central body had been suspended by the social welfare department 15 months after its election.
He said that the association has been accused of not getting its accounts audited and added that the accounts of 3000 NGOs in Sindh had also not been audited but no action was taken against them.
The general secretary of the association, Asghar Ali Pathan, accused the Sindh social welfare department of partisan attitude. He said the protest would continue until the Karachi body of the association was restored.
Meanwhile, a meeting of the paramedical staff of various government hospitals was held here on Tuesday, which welcomed the suspension of the central body of the association.
Speaking on the occasion, Shabbir Chohan, Abdul Latif Otho, Ghaffar Memon, Qadir Jatoi and others condemned the ongoing protest against the social welfare department. They demanded that 15-year account of the association should be audited.