The Phagwara administration on Sunday sealed Golden Sandhar Sugar Mill in Phagwara over outstanding sugarcane payments amounting to Rs 27.74 crore for the 2021-22 crushing season, bringing the long-pending dispute between the mill management and sugarcane growers back into focus.
The action came amidst mounting pressure from the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba), which had given the government November 18 as the deadline to resolve the payment issue and warning of intensified protest if the farmers’ dues were not cleared.
The sealing operation began at 11.15 am today in the presence of the officials whose names were recorded in the official attendance sheet.
During the operation, all nine gates around the premises were locked and sealed. Yet, one smaller gate was kept open with the mutual consent of the Cane Commission and the mill management, represented by Security Officer Mahinder Lal, to facilitate the movement of security personnel deployed inside the premises.
The operation was videographed to maintain the official record of the proceedings and the condition of the property and equipment inside the mill. According to the inventory recorded during the videography, machinery was found installed inside the premises. The inventory also included three trucks, three conveyor machines, four tractors, one agricultural machine, five SUVs and one water tanker.
After the sealing proceedings were completed in the presence of the officers, 25 keys of locks were handed over to Dr Rulda Singh, PO, Punjab Cane Department, as part of the official procedure.
The administrative action was taken in relation to the long-pending dues of sugarcane growers and the alleged regulatory violations by the mill management.
Cane Commissioner Taranjit Singh Gill had alleged that the mill had undertaken crushing operations during the 2025-26 season without obtaining the licence and did not manage to clear the outstanding payments in spite of repeated interventions. He also pointed towards frequent changes in the mill’s ownership and management as a factor complicating the process of fixing responsibility for the liabilities.
The administration had initiated recovery proceedings in September 2022 by attaching the mill’s properties over unpaid sugarcane dues, which were then assessed at around Rs 50.33 crore. Efforts were also initiated to identify properties belonging to the mill owners for recovery of the growers’ money.
The issue intensified in September 2023 when sugarcane growers affiliated with the BKU (Doaba) rolled out an indefinite protest outside the mill, demanding payment of roughly Rs 41.72 crore. Following discussions between farmer representatives and Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, the district administration was directed to seal the mill.
However, following talks between the state administration and representatives of the protesting farmers, an agreement was reached in November 2023. The administration subsequently opened the mill’s locks on November 3 in the presence of mill representatives and farmers’ leaders to facilitate maintenance and the possible resumption of operations, subject to assurances concerning payment of the outstanding dues.
The dispute resurfaced in September 2024 when BKU (Doaba) activists again locked the mill’s main gate over unpaid dues of Rs 27 crore.
The administration reportedly withheld the mill’s crushing licence for the 2025-26 season in view of the outstanding Rs 27.74 crore in December 2025.
