Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Akhilesh Yadav has directed officers to clear the dues of cane farmers on priority basis for the crushing season 2011-12 and also to comply with the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India given in this regard. He also warned officers that any laxity on this front would not be tolerated.

He asked the sugar mills to make a new policy with regards to setting up of cogeneration plants at sugar mills as this would benefit the farmers and increase power and sugar production.

The Chief Minister was meeting a delegation of cane growers at his Annexe office here today, in an effort to redress the problems faced by them. The CM also directed officers to make efforts to revive the Mohiuddinpur unit of Meerut district, which belongs to the Uttar Pradesh State Sugar Corporation. He also asked officers to send a 25-member delegation of cane farmers to countries like Australia, Fiji and Mauritius, to study the advance technologies farmers use there to better their sugarcane produce.

Mr. Yadav also instructed expediting the process to set up co-generation plants at Cooperative sector mills at Bilraya (Lakhimpur), Sneh road (Bijnore) and Ramala Sugar Mill (Baghpat). He further directed that Ethanol plant should be set up at Nanpara (Bahraich), Anoopshahr (Bulandshahr) and Nanauta unit (Saharanpur).

During the meeting, the Chief Minister was apprised that the state has adopted 26 varieties of sugarcane approved by the central government with a view to providing good quality of seeds. To increase sugar yield, the National Agriculture Development Project was being conducted in the state since the year 2011-12.

Because of it, sugarcane production would increase from 56.34 tonnes per hectare to 70 tonnes per hectare, sugar produce will increase from 9.07 per cent to 10 per cent and the seed change would increase from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, in the next five years. The Chief Minister asked officers to ensure that these targets were met and that they benefited the farmers. 

Those present at the meeting included Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. Rakesh Garg, Special Secretary to the CM Mr. Shambhu Singh Yadav and representatives of the farmers Messrs. Avdhesh Mishra, Arvind Singh, Arvind Gangwar, Pappu Tiwari, Ajay Mehra, Radhey Shyam Yadav, Vinod Singh, Lalit, Rajkumar Singh, Dinesh Mishra and other departmental officers.