Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar, along with senior ministers, legislators, and leaders from the cooperative sugar sector, are expected to deliberate on a wide range of issues affecting Maharashtra’s cooperative banking and sugar industries.
The meeting assumes significance amid growing concerns over governance reforms in cooperative banks, financial stress in sugar mills and mounting pressure on sugarcane farmers.
Sources said governance-related concerns in cooperative banks are likely to figure prominently during the discussions. Directors of cooperative banks are expected to seek the Centre’s intervention regarding the implementation of the newly introduced 10-year tenure cap for directors.
Representatives from the sector are likely to demand that the rule be enforced prospectively from August 1, 2025, instead of counting previous tenures already completed by directors.
The tenure-related provision has triggered widespread concern, particularly in Maharashtra, where several experienced and long-serving directors of cooperative banks could become ineligible under the revised norms.
Sector representatives argue that retrospective implementation may disrupt continuity in management and affect the functioning of cooperative financial institutions that play a crucial role in rural credit and agricultural financing.
Apart from cooperative banking issues, the meeting is also expected to focus extensively on the growing crisis in Maharashtra’s cooperative sugar industry. The sector has been facing multiple challenges, including rising production costs, export restrictions, delayed payments to sugarcane farmers and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming crushing season.
Industry representatives are expected to raise concerns over the widening gap between sugar production costs and the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar, which has remained unchanged for several years despite increasing operational expenses. Discussions on ethanol policy, export-related restrictions and loan restructuring measures for financially stressed sugar mills are also likely to take place.
Pending Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) dues to farmers are expected to be another key issue during the meeting. Several cooperative sugar mills in Maharashtra are reportedly facing liquidity constraints, resulting in delays in payments to sugarcane growers. Farmer organisations and industry stakeholders have been demanding relief measures and policy support to help mills clear outstanding dues and sustain operations.
The meeting is also expected to examine the impact of weather-related uncertainties, including concerns over monsoon conditions and their likely effect on sugarcane availability in the next season.
Senior Maharashtra leaders, cooperative sector representatives and sugar industry officials are likely to participate in the discussions aimed at finding solutions to the challenges confronting the state’s cooperative economy.