Daily Times

Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Thursday approved amendments to the Punjab Sugar Factories Act, 1950. Officials claimed that the amendments have been made to provide relief to the growers as it was reported that sugar mills in the province were purchasing sugarcane from the growers on ‘off the book’ by violating the rules and regulations. Once the amendments are legislated the Punjab government would be mandated for sugar millers to carry out their transactions to sugarcane growers via banks in order to avoid complications that may lead to the exploitation of the farmers. The mills in the province will start crushing the sugarcane on the fixed date and strict action will be taken against those mills, who fail to pay growers on time. Earlier, some growers complained about ‘off the book’ purchases by the sugar millers or middlemen despite clear-cut directives by the provincial government for keeping the accounts of all the sale and purchases. Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar expressed that Sugar Mills have been made bound to pay the price of the sugarcane to the growers within 45 days via bank accounts. “No injustice will be tolerated with the growers,” he said and added that PM Khan stands firmly united with the growers of the country. Sarwar also lauded the role of farmers in boosting the country’s economy.