Key Takeaways:

• DAO Rautahat agreed to process subsidies under amended rules
• Farmers must submit documents within 7 days for verification
• Rs 70 million subsidy budget at risk of lapsing will be reallocated

RAUTAHAT, JULY 17 Sugarcane farmers in Rautahat have suspended their protest after the District Administration Office (DAO) agreed to initiate the payment process for long-pending government subsidies, with eligible farmers expected to receive the funds within a week after required documents are submitted. The decision was reached during a meeting at the District Administration Office in Gaur in the presence of Chief District Officer Dinesh Sagar Bhusal. The meeting was chaired by Assistant Chief District Officer Jitendra Kumar Yadav and attended by representatives of the Sugarcane Producers' Association led by its district president Ashok Yadav. Under the agreement, subsidy payments will be processed in accordance with the amended Sugarcane Farmers Subsidy Procedure, 2075. Local governments have been directed to submit farmers' details and other required documents within seven days, after which the concerned authorities will verify the records and release the payments. The administration has also instructed chief administrative officers and agriculture branch officials of all local levels to actively facilitate the collection of farmers' data and coordinate the subsidy distribution process. Following the agreement, the Sugarcane Producers' Association announced the suspension of all protest programmes. Association district president Ashok Yadav said farmers would cooperate in completing the required documentation after receiving assurances that the payment process would begin. Chief District Officer Bhusal said sugar mills would verify sugarcane production while local governments would authenticate farmers' eligibility. Once the documentation is complete, the subsidy amount will be transferred directly to farmers' bank accounts within a week. According to local officials, more than Rs 70 million allocated for sugarcane subsidies had remained undistributed for the past two weeks. Sources said coordination with higher authorities is underway to ensure the budget, which had been at risk of lapsing, is reallocated within the next two days.