News Capsule: Relief for Sick Cooperative Sugar Mills in Maharashtra Through Private Investment
05-Mar-2026 12:23 PM
News Capsule: Relief for Sick Cooperative Sugar Mills in Maharashtra Through Private Investment
★ The Maharashtra government has introduced a new policy to revive loss-making cooperative sugar mills by allowing private investment in projects based on sugarcane by-products.
★ Under the new policy, private investors will be allowed to set up projects under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) and BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) models.
★ Sugarcane by-products such as bagasse, molasses, and press mud can be used to produce electricity, ethanol, biogas, compressed biogas (CBG), and other value-added products.
★ The private developer will build and operate the project for 5–15 years, after which it will be transferred to the sugar mill.
★ This arrangement will help mills generate additional income without taking fresh loans.
★ The policy aims to improve the financial condition of cooperative sugar mills, create new revenue streams, and ensure timely cane payments to farmers.