Chandigarh, Nov. 11 -- Cane growers on Monday slammed the Punjab government for the delay in the release of a payment of Rs.61 per quintal, which it had promised in 2024 over and above the fair and remunerative price (FRP) of Rs.340 per quintal fixed by the Centre. In the current season, sugarcane was sown over 1.18 lakh hectares, particularly in districts Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, and Hoshiarpur. One-third of the total area under the crop falls in the border district of Gurdaspur.

Last year, the government fixed the state advice price (SAP) of Rs.401 per quintal and had promised that it would pay the difference between FRP and SAP to the farmers who had taken their produce for crushing at the six privately owned mills in the state.

In 2021...