House panel flags 32 times increase in sugarcane arrears, farmers to launch protests

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, headed by senior DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, has flagged about 32 times increase, compared to last financial year, in the sugarcane arrears owed to farmers across the country. Farmers’ organisations have demanded Union Government’s intervention to claim their dues as the next crop season is about to begin now.

A report on the Demands for Grants of the Union Department of Food and Public Distribution, tabled in both the Houses during the ongoing budget session, noted that the Department intimated the panel that that total amount of cane price arrears in the country as on February 16, 2026 is ₹16,087 crore. The sugarcane arrears on the same period in 2024-25 was ₹497 crore and in 2023-24, it was ₹34 crore. In 2025-26, the amount payable to farmers was ₹79,818 crore, in which ₹63,731 crore has been paid and the remaining amount to be paid is ₹16,087 crore (79.85%), according to the information provided in the report.

In Uttar Pradesh, the arrears rose from ₹24 crore in 2023-24 to ₹321 crore in 2024-25 and ₹3,287 crore in 2025-26, an increase of more than ten times. In Maharashtra, it was ₹2 crore, ₹123 crore and ₹4,252 crore in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 respectively. Karnataka has the highest arrears. In the last two financial years, the arrears was zero and on February 16 this year, the arrears is ₹4,956 crore. In Gujarat, the arrears increased from ₹5 crore to ₹1,402 crore. In Tamil Nadu, the amount due to farmers is ₹203 crore and in Bihar it is ₹212 crore. Haryana owes ₹373 crore and Punjab’s arrears is ₹535 crore. Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Telangana owe ₹366 crore, ₹235 crore and ₹152 crore to sugarcane farmers.

Farmers’ organisations have questioned the delay in payment. Senior leader of All India Kisan Sabha from Maharashtra Ajit Nawale told The Hindu that the reason given to the farmers was that the sugar prices are down as exports have decreased making the sugar mills unable to pay the fair remuneration price to sugarcane to farmers. “We were told that the cooperative sugar mills in Maharashtra have sought the government’s help. The payments owed to farmers are stuck in this. We have been protesting demanding government’s intervention to resolve the crisis of farmers,” Mr. Nawale said.

Spokesman of Bharatiya Kisan Union in Shamli District, Uttar Pradesh and a young sugarcane farmer Shubham Malik said the ground reality is much worse. “The real statistics of sugarcane arrears must be bigger than what was informed by the government. Farmers had to face two problems– one, the harvest was bad due to diseases and production came down. Secondly, we did not get the prices for the sugarcane. Farmers are already feeling insecure due to the deal announced with the United States. If the government does not help us to receive the money due to us, things are going to be very difficult,” Mr. Malik said.

The panel noted that in every sugar season, production of sugar is around 300-330 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) as against the domestic consumption of 270-290 LMT which results in huge carry over stock of sugar with mills. “This excess stock leads to blockage of funds & affects the liquidity of sugar mills resulting in delayed payment of cane dues & ultimately resulting in accumulation of cane arrears,” the report said.

The Government told the panel that to address the problem of excess sugar and reduction of cane arrears to the farmers, it is encouraging sugar mills to divert excess sugarcane to ethanol. “Further, minimum support price of sugar was also revised from ₹ 29/- per Kg to ₹ 31/- Per Kg along-with the imposition of stockholding limits on the sugar mills,” the panel noted.