Siddaramaiah Directs Financial Aid for Struggling Cooperative Sugar Mills
Chief Minister directs Finance Department to draft a plan for reviving three key mills in Belagavi and Vijayapura districts.
In a bid to revive struggling cooperative sugar mills in north Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has directed the Finance Department to draft a comprehensive plan to provide financial support to three major units—Krishna Cooperative Sugar Mill in Belagavi, and Bheemashankara and Nandi Cooperative Sugar Mills in Vijayapura district.
Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Vijayapura district in-charge, M.B. Patil, shared this update after attending a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Minister in Bengaluru on Monday. The meeting reviewed the financial status of cooperative mills in the region.
Patil highlighted that the mills are facing acute financial distress due to unpaid term loans, arrears to farmers, harvesting and transportation costs, and investment requirements for sugar and power production. The meeting explored possible assistance through bank guarantees or support from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
“The Krishna Cooperative Mill needs Rs 192 crore, Nandi Mill Rs 150 crore, and Bheemashankara Mill Rs 130 crore,” Patil said. He added that the mills are confident of repaying loans through revenue from proposed power generation units.
Plans are underway for Krishna Mill to set up a 27 MW co-generation (cogen) plant, while Nandi Mill is aiming for a 37 MW facility. Both Krishna and Bheemashankara mills have also shown interest in establishing ethanol production units to diversify income sources.
To push the proposal forward, Siddaramaiah has directed officials to convene a meeting with the Sugar Department Commissioner and NCDC representatives. Patil assured that the government would take all necessary steps to ensure the sustainability of these cooperative mills.
The meeting was also attended by Ministers H.K. Patil, Shivananda Patil, H.C. Mahadevappa, Indi MLA Yashavantaraya Gowda Patil, Bilgi MLA J.T. Patil, Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, and other senior officials.