'Sugar mills will pay dues of farmers in two weeks'

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has assured that sugar mills will pay the first instalment of dues to sugar cane farmers in two weeks, farmers’ leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar said on Tuesday.

Chandrashekar, who met the chief minister, said that sugar mills had to pay Rs 400 per tonne of sugar cane supplied in 2013-14. The government had assured farmers their dues would be cleared in two equal instalments – first by end of December, 2014, and second in June this year. But sugar mills refused to pay, citing crash in sugar prices.

“The chief minister has promised to hold talks with mill owners in the coming days. He has sought two weeks. We have agreed on behalf of farmers,” Chandrashekar said, adding he had suggested the chief minister take farmers’  delegation to the Centre to seek its intervention.

He said he urged the chief minister to fix fair and remunerative prices for sugar cane for 2014-15. Procurement of maize, crop loss compensation, proposed agriculture policy,etc were also discussed, he said.