The Phagwara administration on Sunday sealed the Golden Sandhar Sugar Mill over unpaid sugarcane arrears totalling Rs 27.74 crore from the 2021-22 crushing season, bringing the long-standing payment dispute between the mill and cane growers back to the forefront.

Source: The Unmute

Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said the mill, currently managed by the Rana Group, was sealed because it failed to clear the outstanding payments owed to farmers for the 2021-22 season. Farmers have been waiting for their money for a long time, which has caused considerable resentment among them, he said in a statement on Sunday.

Source: Minister statement via Fact

"Farmers work tirelessly to cultivate sugarcane and supply their produce to the mills. It is the responsibility of the mill management to ensure timely payment for the crops they procure. If a mill purchases their produce and does not pay them, the government cannot remain a silent spectator," Kataruchak said, urging the mill management to immediately release the outstanding payments.

Administrative officials moved in ahead of the November 18 deadline set by the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba), which had warned of an intensified agitation if the growers' pending dues were not settled. The sealing was carried out in the presence of designated officials, whose attendance was formally recorded, and the entire process was videographed to document the condition of the assets inside.

Officials prepared an inventory listing the installed plant machinery along with three trucks, three conveyor machines, four tractors, an agricultural machine, five Bolero vehicles and a water tanker found on the premises.

Cane Commissioner Taranjit Gill had earlier noted that the mill conducted crushing operations during the 2025-26 season without securing the necessary licence, while failing to clear the pending arrears despite repeated administrative interventions. Gill also observed that frequent shifts in the mill's ownership and management had complicated efforts to fix accountability for the liabilities.

On the licence question, Kataruchak said complaints had also been received that the mill was operating without a valid licence. "Operating a sugar mill without the requisite licence is a violation of law. No mill will be allowed to function in Punjab without fulfilling the necessary legal requirements," he said. What happens next turns on whether the mill management clears the dues: the minister has publicly urged immediate payment, while the BKU (Doaba) deadline of November 18 — after which growers had threatened a bigger agitation — now falls on a mill that stands sealed.