The Tamil Nadu government will provide sugarcane farmers with a special incentive of ₹150 per tonne for the 2020-21 crushing season. This is in addition to the Centre’s announced fair and remunerative price of ₹2,707.5 per tonne linked to 9.5% sugar recovered and the Transitional Production Incentive of ₹ 42.50 per tonne for the 2020-21 crushing seasons.
The State government had approved ₹54.70 crores earlier this month for the special incentive. According to a government order (GO), the announcement will allow farmers to receive ₹2,900 per tonne for sugarcane supplied to cooperative, public, and private sector sugar mills from the command area of each sugar mill.
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In the meantime, all sugar factories have been directed to submit to the Department of Sugar a report on the tonnage of cane supplied by each farmer during the 2020-21 crushing season, as well as bank account information.
In consultation with the GDC, the Commissioner of Sugar will compile the data received from the mills and create a farmer database.
A third-party consultant will be hired for data entry, as well as to provide necessary inputs to the District Level Committee and compile the UTR number (unique transaction reference) as evidence for Direct Benefit Transfer disbursement, according to the GO.
The Sugar Commissioner’s Office, in collaboration with the Government Data Centre (GDC) and the Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency, will design and build a mill-specific farmers’ database.
For greater transparency, the list of farmers found eligible will be displayed in various administrative offices including the sugar mill office, village administrative office, and block development office.
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The funds will be deposited directly into the farmers’ bank accounts. ‘It is estimated that the entire procedure can be completed within 9 months, from data collection to transfer of the special incentive,’ GO says.
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