Maharashtra cabinet approves Rs 409-cr loan to Pune sugar factory run by BJP’s Thopte
The approval was granted in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Sangram Thopte joined the BJP in April this year after decades in the Congress. (Express Photo) The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday approved a Rs 409-crore working capital loan for the Rajgad Cooperative Sugar Factory, located in Anantnagar Nigade in Pune district, which is controlled by BJP leader and former Congress MLA Sangram Thopte.
The cooperative had initially sought Rs 499.15 crore. The loan, a margin money facility, is provided by the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) with a state government guarantee.
Of the sanctioned funds, Rs 327.25 crore will be used for modernisation and expansion of the sugar project, including setting up a distillery, cogeneration unit, and bio-CBG project.
A sum of Rs 67.23 crore is allocated for repayment of existing bank loans, while Rs 8.42 crore will cover machinery repair and maintenance.
Disbursal of the loan is contingent upon obtaining approvals from the central government for project expansion, clearance from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, and compliance with government norms issued on June 25.
Sources said Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the Finance portfolio, opposed the proposal, arguing that the factory had been continuously struggling and remained unviable despite decades of government assistance, including support during the tenure of former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.
Sangram Thopte joined the BJP in April this year after decades in the Congress.
The Thopte family has long been considered rivals of the Pawar family in Pune district politics. Thopte’s former constituency, Bhor, falls under the Baramati Lok Sabha seat, historically dominated by Sharad Pawar. His father, Anantrao Thopte, and Sharad Pawar were known arch-rivals.
In a separate Cabinet decision, a Rs 39.88-crore term loan was sanctioned for Kedareshwar Sugar Cooperative in Shevgaon taluka of Ahmednagar district.
The cooperative’s board of directors will be jointly and individually responsible for the loan, with government guarantee provided only after all legal formalities are completed.
In another decision, the state cabinet approved the sale of 99.27 acres of land of the Yashwant Cooperative Sugar Factory in Haveli taluka of Pune to the Pune Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) for use as a sub-market yard.
The approval was granted in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The factory, taken over by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank under the Sarfaesi Act, had decided on February 26 to sell the land to settle dues to banks, workers, employees, farmers, and the government.
The cabinet approved the sale at a ready reckoner rate of Rs 231.25 crore. The land is to be used only for the sub-market yard and cannot be repurposed.
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