PHAGWARA: The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) on Monday decided to allow the Phagwara Sugar Mill to continue operations in the larger interest of farmers, despite long-pending sugarcane arrears, while simultaneously intensifying its demand for immediate clearance of dues and announcing participation in protests against the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill 2025.
The decision was taken during a meeting of BKU (Doaba) leaders and members held at Gurudwara Sukhchaina Saheb Phagwara on Monday.The meeting was chaired by Manjit Singh Rai, State President of the union.
During the meeting, the leaders discussed that sugarcane arrears amounting to approximately Rs 27.74 crore from past crushing seasons are still pending against the Phagwara Sugar Mill. They expressed resentment over the continued delay in payments, stating that even after multiple meetings with the Cane Commissioner, farmers have not received their dues, leading to financial distress among cultivators dependent on sugarcane income. The leaders underlined that the Phagwara Sugar Mill is one of the key mills of the Doaba region, catering not only to farmers from Kapurthala district but also to growers from neighbouring districts, and therefore its uninterrupted functioning during the crushing season was essential. In this context, the union decided to withdraw its earlier call that the mill would be allowed to run only after clearance of all pending arrears.
The meeting also noted that substantial arrears remain unpaid by other sugar mills, including about ₹21 crore pending from the government-aided Nakodar Sugar Mill and nearly ₹28 crore from the Golden Sandhar Sugar Mill, Phagwara. The leaders appealed to the state government to urgently intervene and ensure that dues from past seasons are cleared without further delay. They further stated that if the present owners of the Phagwara Sugar Mill, the Rana Group, are unable to operate the mill efficiently and clear farmers’ dues, the government should take over the mill’s management to safeguard farmers’ interests.