Patna, March 23: Two more sick sugar mills have been leased out for starting non-sugar ventures.
The sugar mills in Samastipur and Sakri in Madhubani district have been given to Calcutta- and New Delhi-based companies for starting a jute park and a food park respectively.
Earlier this week, another sugar mill in Bihta was leased out to a Delhi-based firm to start a dry port. “Together, the expected investment is around Rs 450 crore. But the hope for revival of the sugar industry in the state has been diluted,” said an official of the sugarcane department.
In the 1950s, Bihar, with 33 mills, was a major sugar manufacturer. By 1980, the number slid to 28 and in the 1980s, at least 15 mills fell sick before being taken over by Bihar Sugar Development Corporation. However, the government failed to revive them.
When the Nitish Kumar government came to power, it tried to revive them by handing them over to private parties. The government stressed that apart from sugar, the mills were ideally located for production of ethanol. However, the Centre shot down this proposal.
After four rounds of bidding, seven of the 15 sugar mills found no takers.
“These sugar mills cannot be revived because of unavoidable reasons,” sugarcane industries minister Awadhesh Kumar Kushwaha said.
“The government had planned the divestment of the closed sugar mills but its success has been minimal because of many reasons,” Deepak Yadav, the chief executive officer and managing director of Bagaha-based Tirupati Sugars Limited, said.
Entrepreneurs also complain about the government’s failure to protect the industry. In Bihar, there is no entry tax for sugar unlike other states. Sugar from places like Karnataka, Maharashtra and even Brazil come to the state freely. There is entry tax for sugar in other states.
Kushwaha is still optimistic. “At present, the department has 15 closed sugar mills in the state. We are working to revive them in a phase-wise manner. Of the 15, four mills would be reopened, while three in Bihta, Samastipur and Sakri (Madhubani) would be leased out to private parties for setting up other forms of industries. The closed sugar mill in Sakri in Madhubani district would be leased out to New Delhi-based Tirhut Industries Private Limited. They would invest around Rs 250 crore to set up a food park. The same company is working to re-start Raiyam Sugar Mill in Darbhanga district. The agreement with Tirhut Industries Private Limited in the same connection would be signed next month,” he said.
Kushwaha added that the sick sugar mill at Samastipur would be handed over to Calcutta-based Winsome International Limited, which manufactures jute.
“The company owns Rameshwara Jute Mills in Samastipur’s Muktapur. They would set up a jute park at the mill site for around Rs 150 crore. Both these parks are expected to become operational by the end of this year, helping attract other investments to the state. The agreement would be signed next month and only some formalities are left,” said Kushwaha.
On March 19, the department announced that the sick sugar mill at Bihta had been leased out for 60 years to Pristine Magadh Infrastructure for the first dry port of the state at Rs 100 crore.
The minister added that Raiyam Sugar Mill was also expected to start production by the latter half of this year.