Jagtial: Mutyampet sugar factory issue resurfaces before local body polls

The issue of Mutyampet sugar factory reopening has resurfaced ahead of local body elections in Jagtial. Though the government assured commitment, farmers expressed doubts, alleging political drama. Pending dues, ownership issues and delays in process continue to stall the factory’s reopening

Jagtial: The issue of reopening the Mutyampet sugar factory has once again come into focus due to the ensuing local body elections.

The reopening of the factory becomes a hot topic on the political agenda of every party in every election, and now with the State government deciding to conduct the local body polls, the issue has again come into the limelight.

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A few days ago, SC Development Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar along with Industries and IT Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Agriculture Department Principal Secretary Raghunandan Rao, Director of Sugar Ch Narsi Reddy and Collector Satyaprasad held a special meeting with farmers from the factory area.

They made it clear that the State government was committed to reopening the sugar factory. Though farmers’ hopes were raised, some ryots opined that the government was only enacting a drama to win votes in the ensuing elections. Otherwise, they felt, the government had no commitment to fulfil the promise made to sugarcane farmers before the Assembly elections.

Besides Mutyampet of Mallapur mandal, two other units, including Bodhan of Nizamabad and Munjojupalli of Medak under Nizam Deccan Sugars Limited (NDSL), were closed after announcing a lay-off on December 23, 2015.

The Congress party, which had promised to reopen sugar factories during the 2023 Assembly elections, constituted a cabinet sub-committee under the supervision of IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu to look into the issue after coming to power.

Committee members visited the factory and gathered opinions by interacting with farmers. A report was also submitted to the government. Based on the report, the government cleared Rs 190 crore of bank loans under a one-time settlement against Rs 400 crore of pending dues.

On the other hand, Delta Papers Limited, which holds 51 percent share in NDSL, made it clear that it could not operate units even if they were reopened by the government. If the government wanted to take over the factory from the private partner, it would have to examine the value of properties, technical issues and legal aspects.

As a result, the State government’s announcement to reopen the unit by December 2025 has been delayed. Moreover, the government was not taking steps to speed up the process, farmers opined.