Chandigarh, Sept. 11 -- In a decisive move towards safeguarding the financial well being of Punjab's farming community, Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema today announced that the state government, which offered the highest in the country sugarcane purchase rate of Rs 401 per quintal, has released Rs 679.37 crore in sugarcane payments for the 2024-25 crushing season.
In a press communique issued here, Finance Minister Cheema said that the disbursed amount benefits 18,771 farmers across the state and corresponds to sugarcane supplied to Punjab's nine cooperative sugar mills, which collectively crushed 194.66 lakh quintals during the season.
"With a payment rate of Rs 401 per quintal, the total dues to farmers amount to Rs...