Chandigarh, May 7 -- The sugarcane crushing season in Punjab concluded in March, but cane growers across the state are still awaiting payments worth nearly Rs.250 crore linked to the state government's subsidy for private sugar mills.

Punjab has fixed a state advised price (SAP) of Rs.416 per quintal for sugarcane - one of the highest in the country. Of this, the state government provides a subsidy of Rs.68.5 per quintal to private mills to help them meet the SAP. However, delays in releasing this subsidy have held up payments to farmers, even though mills ceased operations over two months ago.

According to official data, private mills have already paid around Rs.1,000 crore to farmers, but nearly Rs.250 crore remains pending. In the co...