Dinanagar: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday announced a hike sugarcane prices by Rs 15 to Rs 416 per quintal for the upcoming crushing season.With this, Punjab now has the highest sugarcane price in the country.Inaugurating a modernised sugar mill and co-generation plant here, Mann said Punjab has become the first state in the country to fix such a high price for sugarcane, setting a benchmark at the national level.
An official statement quoting Mann said the state has always led the country in maximum sugarcane price, adding that this tradition has been continued.Mann expressed hope that this pro-farmer move will greatly benefit cultivators, especially those in the border districts where sugarcane is a key crop.He added that sugarcane serves as an ideal alternative crop that can further strengthen the state's crop diversification efforts and urged the union government to recognize and promote sugarcane as a viable substitute for water-intensive crops.
Established in 1980, with an initial crushing capacity of 1,250 TCD (tonnes crushing per day) and later enhanced to 2,000 TCD in 1987, the mill served as a vital support system for sugarcane growers for over four decades, he said.Mann said with the region now producing nearly 80 lakh quintals of sugarcane, against the mill's earlier capacity to crush only 25 lakh quintals per season, the Punjab government undertook a major modernization project to address this gap.
The CM said the new mill has an expanded crushing capacity of 5,000 TCD, ensuring timely and efficient processing of the area's abundant sugarcane.The CM said this marks a significant step toward strengthening Punjab's cooperative sector, advancing rural industry, and reinforcing the state government's commitment to farmer prosperity and clean energy production.He said that a sulphurless refined sugar plant has also been installed, capable of producing premium-grade sugar.
Mann said another key highlight is the commissioning of a 28.5 MW co-generation Power Plant, designed to supply 20 MW of surplus power to the state power utility.The CM said this power supply is projected to generate approximately Rs 20 crore in annual revenue during each crushing season, significantly strengthening the mill's financial stability.He envisioned that the expansion would directly benefit sugarcane growers across the region, adding that the number of farmers supplying cane to the mill is expected to rise from 2,850 to nearly 7,025.
Mann said this will drastically reduce dependence on distant private mills and save farmers substantial time and cost on transportation.Taking a dig at BJP leader Ashwani Sharma, Mann asked him first to ensure that Punjab receives the Rs 1,600 crore announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as 'token relief' during the recent floods.The BJP leaders should prioritize securing Punjab's due share and legitimate rights from the Centre instead of engaging in political blame games, he said.Mann also stated that as the custodian of the State's rights, he will not tolerate any attempt to alter the status of Chandigarh or Panjab University.
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