DW BUREAU / Chandigarh In consonance with the firm commitment of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure well being of the farmers, the state government today deposited Rs 100 crore in the accounts of sugarcane farmers. Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that on the directions of the Chief Minister the funds were transferred by Sugarfed in accounts of sugarcane cultivators on Saturday. The due amount to be paid to the sugarcane farmers by Sugarfed now stands at Rs 195.60 crore. Out of this Rs 100 crore will be paid by August 31 this year and the remaining Rs 95.60 crores will be cleared by September 15. After this, there will be no pending payment left with the Government owned nine Sugar Mills at Ajnala, Batala, Budhewal, Bhogpur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Morinda , Nakodar and Nawanshahr. Pertinently, with the payment of this Rs. 100.00 crore the Government has already paid Rs.424.02 crores to the sugarcane farmers out of total pending sugarcane payment of Rs.619.62 crores. These payments are related to the season 2021-22. The spokesperson further said that Bhagwant Mann Government is making sincere efforts to ensure that pending payments to the farmers is made with before upcoming sugarcane season of 2022-23 without any inordinate delay. Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal last Friday said sugarcane farmers will get their dues amounting to Rs 300 crore in three installments. The first installment of Rs 100 crore will be released by July 30, the second of the same amount by August 30, and the third by September 15, said Dhaliwal after a meeting here with farm union leaders. According to an official statement, he told farmer leaders that the state government is in the process of equipping the sugar mills with state-of-the-art machinery and as part of this strategy, the mills at Batala and Gurdaspur are being modernized. (editor@dailyworld.in)