The Maharashtra State Sugar Federation (MSSF) is up in arms against the Provident Fund department auctioning sugar kept in factory godowns for recovery of dues. The MSSF has decided to seek immediate intervention of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

Bitterly complaining against such forcible steps, MSSF president Balasaheb Pandurang Patil said, “The cane growers will be at the receiving end if sugar factories close due to the financial crises following the auction of their stock. Factories have to disburse PF dues at any cost, but the way recovery is being made is not acceptable,” he said.

The West Zone PF office had taken possession of the godowns a few weeks ago to recover around Rs 75 crore of PF due from the 45 sugar factories in Maharashtra. It had chosen the Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan [JJJK] sugar factory, controlled by a close relative of the Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil, to indicate that it would not succumb to political pressure. The department had also publicly auctioned 26,000 quintal of sugar at Chakur, Shivraj Patil’s hometown, on Tuesday.

The JJJK’s dues amounted to Rs 3.43 crore and it had failed to pay PF both to the contract and regular employees since 1995. Shetkari sugar factory at Killari in Latur, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh’s constituency, was another offender. It had dues of Rs 3.73 crore over the last five years.

The Kolhapur Regional PF Commissionerate has recovered more than Rs 3 crore from 13 sugar factories last month. The next targets are the three major sugar factories of Vasantdada Patil, the Manganga and the DRK Panchganga. These have dues to the tune of Rs 6 crore.

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