Farmers sit on a dharna in Bijnor demanding Rs 600 per quintal this sugarcane season.
HC also pulled up officials after recovery certificates were issued at 12% interest instead of the 15% rate directed earlier. UP had argued that forcing financially stressed mills to pay 15% interest could push them into bankruptcy and hurt farmers if mills shut down. They also argued that Section 17(3) of UP Sugarcane (Regulation of Supply and Purchase) Act, 1953 permits reduction or waiver of interest. Farmers are also seeking a cane price of around Rs 600 a quintal, citing inflation and rising CNG and diesel costs.
SC rejected these arguments, reiterating the 14-day window and 15% interest as “mandatory protections against debt traps”. In Bijnor, where farmers have been holding a dharna, protest leader Kailash Lamba said their immediate demand was for individual, year-wise details of interest allegedly owed to farmers. “The court has said the interest is due… We believe the amount is much higher than what is being shown,” Lamba told TOI. He said “delayed payments have hit small farmers particularly hard, forcing them to bear fertiliser, machinery and rented-resource costs” while also meeting major household expenses such as marriages. “The SC order has raised our hopes,” he added.
SC in turn disposed of UP govt’s challenge to the HC proceedings.