Cane farmers disappointed as funds remain elusive for modernisation of Amaravathi Cooperative Sugar Mill 

Cane farmers in the command area of Amaravathi Cooperative Sugar Mill, Tiruppur, are in a fix over committing their produce to the unit as the State Government is yet to sanction ₹160 crore for replacing the old and defunct machinery.

Last year, the unit procured sugarcane from its command area encompassing Coimbatore, Tiruppur, and Dindigul and redirected the produce to the other mills. This time, the mill has reached out to the farmers to source the cane. However, the reluctance of farmers to supply their produce to the mill in the absence of direct production activities is palpable, industry sources said.

For replacing the old machinery, which was installed in 1955, the State Government had proposed a modernisation plan at an investment of ₹160 crore, in two phases of equal funding. However, the delay in sanction of the first-phase funding by the government despite the efforts of the people’s representatives has disappointed the farmers.

According to the farmers, the government ought to have accorded priority for the modernisation project as the recovery rate of sugar in the western region is 11 per cent, stated to be the highest across the State.

Meanwhile, the distillery unit is into the process of extracting rectified spirit and ethanol, by sourcing molasses from other mills in the State.

It has a capacity to process 100 metric tonnes of molasses per day, generating 225 litres of rectified spirit and 215 litres of ethanol. In keeping with the agreement it has entered with Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), the mill is in the process of supplying ethanol to the companies.

According to official sources, the mill has, in the last four months, supplied 2.8 lakh litres of ethanol to HPCL, out of the total commitment of 15 lakh litres to the three oil companies.

The mill has, after the start of ethanol production through the distillery unit, processed 5,500 tonnes of molasses. It has a stock of about 700 tonnes, and is awaiting supply of molasses in large quantities from sister units, sources added.