Relief for Kovur Sugar factory workers; ₹28 crore arrears to be paid

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu ensures ₹28 crore arrears for Kovur Sugar Factory workers, benefiting 466 families.

In a significant development, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday assured workers of the Kovur Co-operative Sugar Factory that they would receive their pending arrears of ₹28 crores arrears. This decision is set to benefit 466 workers and their families. Additionally, the Chief Minister ordered officials to transfer the factory’s 124-acre land to the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for establishing new industries.

During the collectors’ conference, SPSR Nellore District Collector O. Anand while explaining to the CM on the comprehensive development and future plans for the district, brought up the pending dues of the Kovur Sugar Factory workers. Ponguru Narayana, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), also sought the attention of the CM to this issue. The CM then directed Dr. N. Yuvaraj, Secretary, Industries & Commerce department, to pay the pending dues and handover the land to the APIIC.

Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and his wife, Kovur MLA Vemireddy Prashanthi Reddy, thanked the CM on behalf of the factory workers. Ms Prashanthi who had raised the issue multiple times in the Assembly, said: “The promise made while campaigning during the 2024 elections to get the workers’ their pending arrears if elected has been fulfilled within nine months of coming to power.”

The Kovur Sugar factory, was established in 1979 at Pothireddypalem in Kovur constituency under the Nellore Cooperative Sector. It functioned well for three decades providing direct and indirect employment to many including a steady income to thousands of sugarcane farmers. The economic downturn led to the closure in 2013, leaving workers without salaries and in dire conditions. Many have died, and others are bedridden.