India, Aug. 23 -- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday reviewed the availability of sugar in Uttar Pradesh and directed officials to take strict action against hoarding and black marketing, particularly ahead of the new sugarcane crushing season beginning October 15. The state currently has 179.38 lakh quintals of sugar available with sugar mills. Of this, cooperative sugar mills have 23.60 lakh quintals, corporation-run mills have 5.28 lakh quintals and private sugar mills have 150.50 lakh quintals in stock. During the review, Yogi directed officials to ensure that sugar dealers do not hold stocks beyond the prescribed period. No dealer will be allowed to store sugar for more than 30 days, officials were told. Also Read - Rajnath to attend ground-breaking ceremony of 5 GRSE projects on Aug 23 Advertisement The chief minister also ordered action against dealers found holding more than 400 tonnes of sugar at a time. Officials have been asked to regularly monitor stocks and take action against those attempting to create an artificial shortage or manipulate prices through excessive stocking. Strict action under the Essential Services Maintenance Act will be taken against those violating the prescribed norms, according to the directions issued during the review. The govt has stepped up monitoring of sugar availability as the state prepares for the new crushing season. Sugar mills are scheduled to begin crushing operations from October 15. Yogi also reviewed the payment of sugarcane dues to farmers and highlighted the payments made during the current period.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.