The Bidar Sahakari Sakkare Karakhane, the oldest sugar producing cooperative in the district, may not crush sugarcane this year. Bad debts and ineffective management have driven the factory to this stage, allege farmers.
The other reasons they attribute include fall in total output of sugarcane, the resultant high prices, lack of funds to clean and maintain machinery, settle dues of farmers and pay labourers.
The factory in Hallikhed-Bujurg village, 30 km from the district headquarters, was started in 1961-62, by collecting share capital from farmers. Successive governments have provided working capital assistance before every crushing season. But the demand for converting these government funds into state equity has not been met by the state government.
The amount of sugarcane crushed has varied over the years, though its optimum capacity is 3,500 tonnes per day. The factory is supposed to function for a season of 100-120 days every year year. But since the quantum of cane crushed had dropped from four lakh tonnes to 70,000 tonnes per season between 2013 to 2015, the unit has serviced only a sixth of the number of farm families in an average year. This year, officials say, the factory may not begin crushing at all.
However, alleged non professional management practices, nepotism and even financial irregularities have pushed the factory to making losses. It suffers from an accumulated loss of Rs. 195 crore, half of which are estimated to be unpaid debts.
Two inquiries by the Department of Cooperation pointed out that the factory was buying raw materials, other than sugarcane, at inflated prices and selling produce, including sugar and bagasse, at lower than market prices. The inquiries also found that the factory was overstaffed, with the total number of full time and part-time employees stretching beyond 1,100.
Administrative boards, headed mostly by politicians, including former minister late Mirajuddin Patel, Subhash Kallur, Eshwar Khandre and Sanjay Kheny, have been at the helm of affairs at the factory in the past. Mr. Kheny, the latest incumbent, has resigned, citing non-cooperation from other board members.
Meanwhile, an inquiry under section 64 of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act is still under way. If the government finds evidence of irregularities, the government is empowered to disband the administrative board and appoint a government officer as an administrator.
The factory has also failed to repay the nearly Rs. 100 crore loan taken from the District Central Cooperative Bank, Apex Bank and other agencies from time to time.
"Since the first crushing season of 1969-70, the factory has been seen as an opportunity to gain clout and economic power by most leaders. Few of them wanted to help us,’’ alleged Vishwanath Patil Koutha, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader.
Another KRRS leader Mallikarjun Swamy laments that the factory may be lost for ever. Most leaders have been indulging in party politics, without any concern for farmers, who are the share holding owners of the factory, he alleged.
Rajshekar Patil, MLA for Humnabad, has openly complained that the factory’s loans were more than the combined value of its real estate and other assets.
“There is no magic cure for the factory’s ills. Everyone concerned should think of novel ways of rescuing it,’’ he said.
Deputy Commissioner Anurag Tewari feels the factory can be revived by adopting modern management methods.
Infusion of capital, erecting hi-tech machinery, increasing the number of by-products and using the 168 acres of land for setting up a solar park may be the possible solutions.
The state government and other stake holders should be able to come up with a solution at the appropriate time, he said.
