KWC wants mills to pay growers dues

Staff Report

LAHORE: Kisan Welfare Council (KWC) President advocate Muhammed Ayyub said on Monday that the Punjab Food Department and the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) were responsible for the backlog in heavy sugarcane payments to farmers at mills in Punjab.

A KWC press statement said all the 39 sugar mills in the province had yet to pay over three billion rupees to farmers for the crushing period from 1999 to 2002. He said a Punjab Food Department’s report appeared in the press had also confirmed the figures.

Mr Ayyub said that the heavy amount of over three billion rupees was a proof that the Food Department and the PSMA had failed to fulfil their duty of ensuring payments to the farmers. “Both of them have played havoc with the miserable plight of farmers for not taking appropriate and timely action on delays in payments to the farmers,” he added.

Mr Ayyub urged Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvaiz Elahi to intervene into the matter and bring the responsible people to task in order to protect the interests of thousands of sugarcane growers. He said any further delay regarding the matter would disappoint the farmers and they would have to protest against the Punjab government and the PSMA.

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