Barely three weeks before the 2017-18 sugarcane crushing gets underway in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest sugar producer, the state sugar mills, which are predominantly private sector owned, have arrears to tune of Rs 1,130 crore pertaining to the previous 2016-17 season. Of the outstanding amount, the private millers owe the bulk at almost Rs 945 crore, or 84 per cent of the consolidated arrears. The remaining Rs 185 crore is due from the state co-operative federation units. Settlement of arrears within 14 days of sale was a prominent pre-poll promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the run up to the UP 2017 Assembly elections. The 2016-17 crushing season had wrapped up by the first week of May 2017. Although five months have passed, yet the arrears have still not been settled in total.