Maharashtra: Rs 10 cr bank guarantee mandated for leased sugar mills to ensure FRP payments
Mumbai (PTI): A bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore has been mandated for sugar mills in Maharashtra operating on a lease or partnership basis to ensure the timely payment of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) to sugarcane farmers, officials said on Monday.
The state Cooperation Department's decision aims to secure FRP dues during the crushing season, though concerns have been raised that the amount may be inadequate given the scale of operations of most such mills.
According to officials, many cooperative sugar factories are financially stressed and have been given on lease or partnership under norms based on provisions of the securitisation law. While eligibility criteria for operating such mills had been laid down earlier, there was no clear mechanism to ensure timely FRP payments.
Under the new decision, at the time of entering into lease or partnership agreements and while applying for crushing licences, the company or agency taking over the mill or another sugar factory will have to furnish a minimum bank guarantee of Rs 10 crore in the name of the Sugar Commissioner.
If FRP is not paid on time during the crushing season, the dues of cane suppliers, along with interest for the delayed period, will be recovered from the bank guarantee. Any balance amount remaining after settlement of FRP dues will be returned after the end of the crushing season upon submission of a no-dues certificate, officials said.
They added that district collectors have been empowered to invoke the bank guarantee to ensure payment of FRP.
The order also provides that in case of default, coercive action cannot be taken against the immovable and movable assets of the original cooperative sugar factory. Instead, recovery proceedings, including attachment, may be initiated against the movable and immovable assets of the operating agency or company, as well as against sugar, molasses, bagasse and other by-products produced by the mill.
Commenting on the decision, farmers' leader Raju Shetti said the move was welcome but the guarantee amount should be much higher.
"Most cooperative sugar factories in the state are financially sick and have been given on lease. Their crushing capacity ranges between 3,000 and 5,000 tonnes per day. They have to pay at least Rs 100 to Rs 150 crore as FRP. In such a scenario, a Rs 10 crore bank guarantee is too low and should be increased," Shetti said.
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PM must resign when TMC wins Bengal: Derek O'Brien
Kolkata (PTI): Trinamool Congress's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien on Wednesday expressed confidence that his party will come back to power in the state after the assembly elections and challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign when the results come.
In a video shared on microblogging site X, O'Brien accused the prime minister of making exaggerated political claims and urged him to "accept the challenge" instead of indulging in "big talk."
"Narendra, you had announced that you are the candidate on all 294 seats in West Bengal. Leave out the big talk and accept this challenge..." O'Brien wrote.
He asserted that if the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC wins the state, the prime minister should step down from his post. "When Mamata Banerjee and TMC win West Bengal, you will resign from your post as the prime minister," he said.
The remarks come amidst an intensifying political contest in West Bengal, where the ruling TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party are engaged in a high-stakes electoral battle.
Polling is taking place in 142 constituencies in the second and final phase of the assembly elections on Wednesday, amid unprecedented security arrangements and a high-intensity contest that could decide whether the ruling TMC retains its dominance over the southern districts or the BJP can force open the gates of power in the state.
