Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa government has decided to continue financial assistance to the defunct Sanjivani Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd. (SSSKL), extending the grant-in-aid scheme for another year to support salary payments and other essential expenditure despite the factory remaining non-operational.
The extension, which will remain in force till March 31, 2027, was notified by Director of Agriculture Chandrahas Dessai.
The cooperative sugar factory has remained closed since the 2019-20 crushing season, with no decision yet on its proposed revival. Since the financial assistance scheme was introduced in 2020, the State is estimated to have spent nearly Rs 35 crore to keep the establishment functional and ensure employees continue to receive their salaries.
The factory currently has about 170 employees, including 99 permanent staff. Officials said the government releases around Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore every year under the scheme to meet salary commitments and other unavoidable administrative expenses.
Sanjivani Sugar Factory had operated for more than four decades before suspending crushing operations. Ageing machinery, recurring technical problems, declining sugarcane production, shortage of spare parts and mounting financial liabilities eventually made the unit commercially unviable.
With the factory generating no revenue after operations came to a halt, the government introduced the grant-in-aid scheme to meet establishment expenses until a long-term decision on the cooperative’s future is taken.
In a separate notification, the government also approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) for the 2026-27 financial year.
The Agriculture Department has, however, revised the list of insured crops. Pulse crops have been excluded from Kharif coverage across Goa as cultivation has not been reported, while sugarcane and groundnut have been removed from the scheme in North Goa due to the very limited area under cultivation.
