Nayagarh: Payments to the tune of Rs 35 crore to banks, sugarcane farmers, and employees by Nayagarh sugar mill at Panipoila area in this district are yet to be realised as its auction is caught in legal wrangles and administrative bottlenecks. The sugar mill, established on 143-acre land at Panipoila in 1998, has been in lockdown since 2015. The district administration sealed it after making an estimate of its properties March 12, 2020. The sugar mill will become a thing of the past as the district administration never thought of its security.
Later, the state government sold off the sugar mill at Rs 5.22 crore to a private entrepreneur Trailokya Mishra under the agreement of sale. Though Mishra has made the one-time payment, the sugar mill land is yet to be registered in his name.
Reports said the sugar mill cannot be auctioned as an arbitration case of Rs 840 crore is subjudice in the court. Meanwhile, a six-member team of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) visited Panipoila Friday and made an estimation of the sugar mill properties for the third time. However, there is no let-up in the theft of equipment from the sugar mill as the district administration never spared a thought to tighten the security in and around the sugar mill. This has been going on for the last four years but equipment is still lying abandoned inside the sugar mill. The district administration woke up from its slumber after the Orissa High Court cracked whip on the issue, January 2021. The then District Collector Poma Tudu, SP Siddharth Kataria, and DFO HD Dhanraj undertook a surprise visit to the sugar mill and directed to intensify security measures in and around the sugar mill. Tudu also directed to install of CCTV cameras on the sugar mill premises to check theft. Later, CCTVs were installed at a cost of Rs 21,000.
Similarly, all roads except one connecting the sugar mill were closed and lights were installed for proper illumination. However, the security measures went slack again after some months. The CCTV cameras were stolen and the concerned officials looking after its security were transferred elsewhere. This proved opportune for the miscreants to steal at their will. Reports said that the sugar mill has an outstanding loan of Rs 25 crore from the state-owned UCO Bank, Indian Bank, and HDFC Bank.
Similarly, sugarcane farmers are yet to receive outstanding dues of Rs 4 crore, and the labourers and employees Rs 6 crore towards their wages and salaries. With the district administration and the state government failing to protect the interests of the sugar mill, questions are now making the rounds as to how the sugarcane farmers, banks, labourers, and employees will get back their dues. Speaking to media persons, the cooperative minister said the authorities of the sugar factory have demanded a compensation of Rs 1,471.68 crore from the state government. A case has been filed in the court but its fate is still unknown. Trailokya Mishra, chairman of Nayagarh Sugar Complex, said that the sugar mill property was estimated thrice in his absence. He has filed an Rs 840 crore arbitration case in the court demanding compensation. “I purchased the sugar mill by making necessary payment following a cabinet decision but the sugar mill and the land are yet to be registered in my name,” he added. An advocate Ranjit Dash said the sugar mill cannot be auctioned when the matter is subjudice in the court.
Moreover, the banks will not get even half of their payment dues by auctioning whatever equipment is left in the sugar mill. Further, the district administration has failed to check the rampant theft of equipment from the mill. Lastly, only the forest land will be left which cannot be sold off, he added.