NEW DELHI: As sugar mills in UP prepare to reopen around Oct 20, hundreds of farmers have something to look forward to in the festive season: interest on cane payments delayed for decades, dating back to the 1990s.The issue has gained fresh momentum after the SC’s Oct 6 order and an Allahabad HC order of Aug 31, which found Rs 1,936 crore remained to be recovered from sugar mills under outstanding recovery certificates. Of this, Rs 1,087 crore was principal cane dues and Rs 849.5 cr interest. HC recorded that “not a single penny towards interest has been recovered”.HC also pulled up officials after recovery certificates were issued at 12% interest instead of the 15% rate directed earlier. SC in turn disposed of UP govt’s challenge to the HC proceedings. UP had argued that forcing financially stressed mills to pay 15% interest could push them into bankruptcy and hurt farmers if mills shut down. They also argued that Section 17(3) of UP Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 permits reduction or waiver of interest. SC rejected these arguments, reiterating the 14-day window and 15% interest as “mandatory protections against debt traps”.At the heart of the dispute is the statutory 14-day deadline for mills to pay farmers for cane supplies, after which interest becomes payable on delayed dues.For farmer leader V M Singh, former Janata Dal MLA and head of Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (RKMS), who filed the 2006 PIL, the latest development is a vindication of his years-long fight.“This order is a huge achievement,” Singh told TOI. “Think what 30 years of waiting means for a farmer.”In Bijnor, where farmers have been holding a dharna, protest leader Kailash Lamba said their immediate demand was for individual, year-wise details of interest allegedly owed to farmers.“The court has said the interest is due… We believe the amount is much higher than what is being shown,” Lamba told TOI.He said “delayed payments have hit small farmers particularly hard, forcing them to bear fertiliser, machinery and rented-resource costs” while also meeting major household expenses such as marriages. Farmers are also seeking a cane price of around Rs 600 a quintal, citing inflation and rising CNG and diesel costs. “The SC order has raised our hopes,” he added.Some farmers who originally supplied the cane have since died. Many farmers still have weighment slips from the period.The timing also gives the old dispute a fresh political edge. With the 2027 UP Assembly election approaching, “ganna” is again becoming a key issue. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has reached out to farmers and khap representatives over time-bound cane payments, while RLD’s Jayant Chaudhary continues to foreground the cane economy.
