Have the Pending Payments of Sugarcane Growers Released: Cheema to Amarinder

Chandigarh, February 20: Leaders of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema has slammed the government for being indifferent on taking a call on the pending payments of sugarcane growers worth in the state. Raising the issue during the zero hour, Cheema informed the House that huge payments of sugarcane growers were pending against private sugar mill owners for years now, which, he said was a cause of grave concern. Cheema lamented that the harried farmers had been left with option but to take to the roads and ‘dharnas’ etc.

Cheema informed the House that a Dhuri-based private sugar mill owes a whopping 60 crore to farmers while the overall payment due from other mills stood outstanding against other mills in the state for years now. Lambasting the slogan-shouting SAD-BJP MLAs on the floor of the House, Cheema said that by disrupting the proceeding and serious issue being taken up showed their anti-farmer stance. Cheema urged the government to intervene and have the outstanding dues payment to the farmers so that they were forced to the resort to retaliatory route.