Congress alleges corruption in sale of sugar mills
Alleging corruption in sale of four UP State Sugar Corporation mills to private investors, the state Congress has demanded a CBI inquiry into the tendering process. State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said the party will hold demonstrations in front of these mills in September.
On August 21, a Congress delegation, led by party general secretary Digvijay Singh, will meet the Lok Ayukta to draw his attention to the issue. “The sugar mill in Amroha, which has been sold for Rs 17.01 crore to Waves Ltd, is spread on 74 acres of prime land having four bungalows, including the residence of the district judge and also the circuit house. It also has other residential quarters and a disputed property on the Curzon Road in Delhi,” said Joshi, adding, “The government has evaluated the cost of all this property as zero.”
Senior Congress leader VM Singh, who has been fighting for the rights of sugarcane farmers, said the four mills were sold for less than Rs 200 crore while their actual value was 10 times higher this amount. The Amroha mill includes property worth Rs 250 crore, he said. Singh said the state government had spent over Rs 20 crore on modernisation and expansion of Jarwal Road mill in Behraich, but it has been sold for Rs 26.95 crore. “The Siswa Bazar mill was completely modernised and its capacity was expanded. It is as good as a new mill. This mill has been sold for Rs 34 crore, despite the fact that it made profit of Rs 30 crore last year,” said Singh. The Congress leaders alleged that viable units have been sold and evaluation of the mills was manipulated to favour the bidders. “The value of the land has been assessed zero in the accounts. We would ask the government to make public the criteria of the evaluation and the people who did the evaluation,” said Joshi.
