Lucknow, Sep 3 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has expressed serious concern over the non-recovery of sugarcane farmers’ dues, noting that around Rs 1,936 crore, including principal and interest, is still outstanding under various recovery certificates (RCs).
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court directed all district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh to make every possible effort to recover the amount payable to farmers on the basis of revised recovery certificates.
A bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla passed the order on August 31 while hearing a PIL filed by Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan convener V M Singh. The matter will next be heard on October 15.
The court also took note of instances where RCs had been issued with interest calculated at 12 per cent instead of the applicable 15 per cent, potentially resulting in non-recovery of an additional amount of around Rs 170 crore.
Taking a serious view, the bench made four former cane commissioners personally parties to the proceedings and issued notices to them, seeking their replies on why RCs carrying the lower interest rate were issued despite the Allahabad High Court’s judgment dated December 23, 2021.
The former officials have also been asked to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
The court was informed that the four officers, who held the post of cane commissioner during the relevant period, were Sanjay R Bhusreddy, Prabhu N Singh, Pramod Kumar Upadhyay and Ministhi S Bhoosreddy, and they retired in June 2025.
According to a chart submitted by the cane commissioner, the principal amount of sugarcane dues under various RCs was around Rs 4,405 crore. Of this, approximately Rs 3,318.50 crore has been recovered, leaving about Rs 1,087 crore towards the principal.
Interest at 15 per cent works out to around Rs 849.52 crore, but no recovery has so far been made towards the interest amount. The total amount pending recovery, including principal and interest, is therefore around Rs 1,936 crore.
The figures placed before the court further showed that in 2023-24, sugarcane worth around Rs 35,893 crore was payable to farmers in 36 districts based on the state advised price (SAP).
Of this, around Rs 17,478 crore, or 48.70 per cent, was paid within the statutory period of 14 days, while approximately Rs 18,391 crore, or 51.24 per cent, was paid after the stipulated period.
Interest at 15 per cent on these delayed payments amounts to around Rs 614.74 crore. The bench expressed concern that not a single rupee of this interest had been recovered so far.
The court directed the cane commissioner to inform it within what period the entire outstanding dues of farmers were likely to be recovered.
It also sought clarification on whether interest would be calculated from the date on which the principal became due until actual payment or only up to the date of issuance of the recovery certificate.
The cane commissioner has been directed to collect details of outstanding dues from all districts and, if possible, place a mill-wise statement before the court at the next hearing. PTI COR KIS KSS KSS
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