By Laxman Kafle
Kathmandu, Sept. 25: The government has released almost all subsidy amount of last year to the sugarcane farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has sent about of Rs. 952 million to the District Treasury and Controller Offices of the eight different districts to distribute to the sugarcane farmers, said Dr. Hari Bahadur KC, spokesperson of the Ministry.
Out of the total amount, Rs. 950 million is allocated for the subsidy and Rs. 2,050,000 for necessary administrative expenses.
During the budget announcement for the fiscal year 2019/20, the Ministry of Finance had allocated Rs. 950 million for government subsidy to be provided to the sugarcane farmers across the country.
“The ministry has released all the budget allocated under the subsidy to be provided to the sugarcane farmers. It is still short of Rs. 19.7 million demanded subsidy based on the quantity of crushing sugarcane,” he told The Rising Nepal.
The government provides subsidy based on the sugarcane crushed to produce sugar. Last year, about 14.85 million quintal of sugarcane was crushed for producing sugar.
For this, a total of Rs. 969 million budget was required to provide subsidy for the crushed sugarcane.
The government had fixed the minimum price of sugarcane at Rs. 536.58 per quintal last year, including government subsidy of Rs. 65.28 per quintal.
KC said that the ministry would release the remaining amount under the coordination of the Ministry of Finance at the earliest.
As per the procedures of the sugarcane subsidy, the farmers have to submit the copies of land ownership certificate or lease certificate and bills of the sugarcane sold to the sugar mills.
He urged the farmers to visit the District Treasury and Controller Offices of the concerned districts with required documents for receiving the subsidy amount.
The Ministry sent Rs. 213.4 million to Sarlahi district, Rs. 77 million to Sunsari, Rs. 245 million to Kanchanpur, Rs. 58.9 million to Siraha, 156.9 million to Mahottari, Rs. 43.2 million to Rautahat, Rs. 49.2 million to Nawalparasi and Rs. 105.9 million to Bara district.
Meanwhile, the government has sent Rs. 213.49 million for sugarcane farmers in Sarhali, said Jagat Prasad Thapaliya, chief of the District Treasury and Controller Office Malangawa.
According to a survey, Rs. 217.94 million should have been released for sugarcane farmers of the district, which means the amount falls short by about Rs. 4.4 million.
Thapaliya informed that a meeting of the district payment committee will be held within a few days and the necessary process for making payment will be initiated.
According to Thapaliya, who is also the member secretary of the committee, discussions are underway to move the work forward so that the farmers can be paid by dividing the amount judiciously among them.
For some years now, the government has been fixing the price of sugarcane at Rs. 536.56 per quintal and the industrialists have been paying Rs. 471.28 per quintal to the farmers.