Mawana Sugar refutes Bank A/cs freeze news

It said that the news of the bank accounts being frozen was not true. Earlier on, it was reported that the Mayawati-led Uttar Pradesh Government had sealed the bank account of Mawana Sugar for non-payment of farmer dues.

Shriram said, "There is absolutely no truth to this news."

He further added, "all the mills in UP are tardy in paying the farmers because, the sugarcane prices are higher than the sugar selling prices. This has led to a liquidity problem, because of which, many mills, including us, have gone to bankers. But there is no truth that the bank accounts of the companies have been attached."

According to him the total dues of the sugar industry as a whole may be in the order of Rs 2000 crore. The company further added that its total sugarcane dues amounted to Rs 70 crore.

Everybody in the industry had overstepped the credit limit, he said, adding, "We have paid 88% of our dues."

When asked for a timeframe, by which, the company would settle the dues with the farmers, Shriram said, "We have gone to our bankers for additional funds and they are considering it."

Further on, he informed that the whole industry was having continuous discussions with the Government of UP as well as the Central Government on finding out a solution to tackle the situation - when the raw material prices are higher than that of the finished products.

Calling it 'an untennable situation' in UP, Shriram said it was more accute in state, as it had not adjusted the state-advised price, whereas in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu the cane prices had been tempered with.

He was of the view that the Government would take action after considering the plight of the industry as well as the farmers.