A sugar factory in Motihari. Telegraph picture

Patna, July 7: The Bihar government is planning to organise an investors’ meet to attract private players for setting up sugar industries in the state. The meet is likely to take place in August.

Sharing this information with The Telegraph, sugarcane industry minister Awadhesh Prasad Kushwaha said: “Madhepura and Banka areas have the potential to be developed as a new hub for sugar industry and we want to promote this point in the investors’ meet. The details of the meet are being worked out.”

He said that invitations for the meet would be extended to prospective investors both from India and those living outside the country.

The move of the department appears logical as in Banka district, sugarcane is being grown in 8,693hectare of land whereas in Madhepura, 5771hectare is engaged in sugarcane cultivation.

In absence of a sugar factory, farmers of the area are forced to make jaggery. Ten truckloads of jaggery from these two districts are sent to Bengal on a daily basis.

Ideally, the requirement of one sugar factory is met if sugarcane is grown in 10000hectare.

When one takes into account the sugarcane cultivation being done in the adjoining districts, the investors would not have problems in setting up sugar factories there.

In case of Banka, sugarcane is grown in adjoining Bhagalpur (6,451hectare) and Jamui (2,390hectare) districts. As far as Madhepura is concerned, sugarcane is grown in adjoining Supaul (165hectare) and Saharsa (1414 hectare) districts.

The sugarcane industry has deputed its officials in Banka and Madhepura to ensure that all the incentives being given by the government for growing sugarcane can be given to farmers in these districts also so that more areas can be brought under sugarcane cultivation.

Inviting prospective investors for setting up new industries apart, the department has also expedited the process inviting bids for nine closed sugar factories of Bihar State Sugar Corporation (BSSC).

“Tenders for the nine factories of BSSC would be floated once again by the end of this month,” said the minister.

The nine sugar factories for which tenders would be floated are located at Guraru, Warsaliganj, Goraul, Niw Sawan, SKG Siwan, Hathua, Samastipur, Banmankhi and Lohat. During NDA I regime in Bihar, the state government had roped in the services of SBICPAS for fixing the base price of 15 sugar factories of BSSC out of which six — Lauria, Sugauli, Bihta, Motipur, Raiyyam and Sakri — have been taken over by private parties through competitive bidding, but no bidders have turned up for the other nine factories though bids were invited thrice for takeover.

“Given the positive mood of investors in the new industrial policy, 2011, we hope that our efforts would be fruitful this time,” said Kushwaha.