ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered sugar mill owners to pay all existing dues to sugarcane growers by Friday. A three-member bench headed by Justice Azmat Saeed issued the order.
The total dues Brothers Sugar Mills have to clear are Rs678.9 million. Darya Khan sugar mills have to clear Rs57m and Pattoki Sugar Mills have to clear dues worth Rs591m.
The court ordered that mill owners should hand their cheques, made in the name of the deputy commissioners of relevant districts over to the sugarcane commissioner by Friday. The commissioner will hand over the cheques to the deputy commissioners of the relevant districts.
The court further said that if the cheques are not submitted by Friday, the Advocate General’s office should file an application on the matter in court.
“If the commitment made with the court is not upheld, there will be dire consequences. It will not be good if the cheques bounce or do not arrive by Friday,” Justice Azmat Saeed warned.
In January, sugarcane growers had expressed concern over the government’s failure to implement the Supreme Court’s order regarding payment of the sugarcane price to the farmers.
The apex court had fixed the rate of Rs180 per 40kg for mills across the country after farmers said that the millers were looting farmers at free will as prices set by the court four years ago have yet to be implemented.