A proposal readied by the mill administration searching for sanction of ₹160 crore by the federal government for revamp of services and alternative of outdated equipment has been pending for over two years. The outdated equipment put in in 1955 had worn out and needed to be discarded throughout 2023.
The committee will formulate the plan of motion for revival of the cane crushing infrastructure. The mill has, for the final couple of years, been extracting rectified spirit and ethanol by sourcing molasses from different mills within the State.
The distillery unit within the mill has a capability to course of 100 metric tonnes of molasses per day, producing 225 litres of rectified spirit and 215 litres of ethanol.
Sale of rectified spirit was 42.50 lakh litres valued at ₹21.55 crore throughout 2023-24. During the 12 months, 7.09 lakh litres of ethanol was produced and ₹3.71 crore was realised.
It was a quantum soar from 24.40 lakh litres (₹11.60 crore) of rectified spirit, throughout 2022-23. Ethanol manufacturing was excessive in the course of the 12 months at 15.10 lakh litres valued at ₹7.14 crore).
Farmers’ associations have been emphasising on revival of cane crushing within the mill, to derive the advantage of highest extent of 11% restoration charge within the western area.
The Tamil Nadu Karumbu Vivasayigal Sangam mooted modernisation of the mill with a crushing capability of two,500 metric tonnes a day.
They are actually constrained to move their produce to different mills.
Against this backdrop, farmers have urged the State Government to faucet into the utility of the mortgage scheme of National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) for strengthening of the cooperative sugar mills (CSMs).
For the advantage of the cooperative sugar mills, NCDC has decreased its floating charge of curiosity for time period mortgage to eight.50% underneath the grant-in-aid scheme of the Ministry of Cooperation.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are required to prioritise CSMs collaborating in ethanol procurement cycles.
On March 6, 2025, the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, issued a Gazette Notification notifying the revised scheme titled ‘Scheme for monetary help to CSMs for changing their current sugarcane-based feedstock ethanol crops into multi-feedstock-based crops to utilise grains similar to maize and broken foodgrains for enhancing and augmenting ethanol manufacturing capability’, completely for cooperative sugar mills.
Under the scheme, Central Government will bear the curiosity subvention on the mortgage availed by them at a charge of both 6% every year or 50% of the rate of interest charged by the lending establishment, whichever is decrease, for a interval of 5 years, together with a one-year moratorium. Cooperative sugar mills availing of the advantage of curiosity subvention will likely be prioritised by OMCs for ethanol procurement.
Published – August 16, 2025 11:17 pm IST
