Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said on Friday that sugarcane growers will receive Rs. 300 crores in three installments. The first tranche of Rs. 100 crores would be issued on July 30, the second on August 30, and the third on September 15, according to Dhaliwal following a meeting with farm union representatives.
According to an official release, he informed farmer leaders that the state government is in the process of outfitting sugar mills with cutting-edge technology and that the mills in Batala and Gurdaspur are being updated as part of this approach.
According to the minister, government-formed teams visited 730 locations in the cotton belts of Muktsar, Bathinda, and Barnala where crops were destroyed by whitefly attacks. On July 28, the crews will return to survey the damage.
Dhaliwal stated that if someone is discovered selling fake seeds and chemicals to farmers, strict action will be taken.
He would take up the problem of charges filed against farmers amid the uproar over the Centre's now-withdrawn agricultural rules, the minister assured.
Reiterating that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has always put farmers' interests first, he said the CM has written to the Centre challenging the exclusion of Punjab from the MSP committee.
The chief minister is devoted to safeguarding the welfare and prosperity of the state's farming community. As part of this, he stated that the state government is determined to take a zero-tolerance stance against any exploitation of sugarcane farmers by private mill owners.
He stated that owners of private mills will be required to make regular payments to farmers and that if they do not, the mill will be forced to close.
Farmers have been owed money since the crushing season finished in April of this year. Over 200 crores in debts have been settled by the government and private mills in the last month.
