Minister for cooperation Harshawardhan Patil on Thursday announced that the crushing season would start from November 1. He said that no sugar factory will be given crushing licence without ensuring drip irrigation for cultivating the sugarcane in its area of operation.

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While addressing a press conference, Patil said that as per the estimates based on satellite imagery, estimates of agriculture department and report by the sugar commissioner’s office in Pune, it is expected that 645 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane would go for crushing this season.

He said that sugar production, as per primary estimates for this season, is 74 lakh metric tonnes with a variation of plus or minus 10 per cent.

Patil said farmers can avail of loan of 40% expenditure for drip irrigation through Nabard, 50% from Union government and 10% from state government.

So far an area of 1.5 lakh hectares of 10 lakh hectares under sugarcane cultivation has come under drip irrigation.

No sale of sick sugar factoriesMinister for cooperation Harshawardhan Patil said the government has banned the sale of 25 sugar factories that were closed down due to financial crisis. Refuting the allegations by social worker Medha Patkar that there is a Rs10,000-crore scam involving the sale of sick sugar factories, Patil said the government has no role in this as banks have auctioned the sugar factories.

Govt to ensure sugar supplyPatil said that taking into account increased use of sugar during Dussera and Diwali festivals, the government would vest the district collector with the authority of buying sugar from the open market and distributing it through public distribution system.