Rs 335 crore for two sugar mills run by Mahayuti leaders, weeks after Rs 18 crore row

Another Rs 174.95 crore has been approved for the Loknete Marutrao Ghule Patil Dnyaneshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory in Nevasa in Ahilyanagar district. It too has been instructed to use the funds to settle its outstanding loan.

The approvals come against the backdrop of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank and district central cooperative banks increasingly refusing fresh credit to sugar mills that have defaulted on earlier loans. Banks have sought state government guarantees before extending further financial assistance to these mills.

With conventional cooperative bank funding becoming difficult, the state government has increasingly turned to the NCDC to support financially stressed sugar mills. Several cooperative mills received NCDC assistance in the run-up to the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the past.

The government is also reviewing applications that were rejected by the NCDC and facilitating fresh applications from mills seeking financial assistance.

Last month, the state Cabinet approved an Rs 18 crore NCDC loan, backed by a state guarantee, for Nilkantheshwar Cooperative Sugar Factory, associated with Pawar. The proposal had reportedly faced objections from the Finance and Cooperation departments before receiving approval.

The latest approvals are likely to provide fresh ammunition to the opposition, which has repeatedly alleged that the government is extending financial support to sugar mills associated with leaders of the ruling parties.