Trident Sugars directed to pay fair price to farmers

Sangareddy: Medak Joint Collector Venkatrami Reddy has directed the management of Trident Sugars Limited in Zaheerabad to offer a “fair and remunerative price” (FRP) of Rs 2,663 a tonne for sugarcane.

During a meeting he held with the sugarcane farmers and the management of Trident Sugars on Monday, the Joint Collector instructed the management to clear within a week outstanding dues to the tune of Rs 6.23 crore to the farmers during the last crushing season.

He said that he would also be monitoring the payments being made to the farmers in the current crushing season every fortnight. As against Rs 2,663 a tonne being paid by other factories in the district, Trident Sugars has been paying only Rs 2,440 a tonne this crushing season.

Last week, the farmers from Zaheerabad had approached the district administration seeking intervention of officials. It led to the Joint Collector calling for a meeting. Venkatrami Reddy assured the management that the revenue authorities would ensure that farmers from the area do not go supply their produce to other factories if the FRP was fixed at Rs 2,663 a tonne at Trident Sugars.