SARLAHI: The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has allocated around Rs 213 million to be paid as subsidies to sugarcane farmers, the Treasury and Comptroller’s Office (TCO) has said.

“Over Rs 213 million rupees have been released for the farmers. Still 2.5 percent budget is yet to be released,” said TCO chief Jagat Prasad Thapaliya.

The budget has been released for the fiscal year of 2019/20. Over Rs 217 million should have been dispatched for the farmers, according to a survey in the district.

The Ministry of Finance has set aside Rs 950 million for the fiscal year, 2020/21.

The district payment committee would meet within some days and necessary process in releasing the budget to the farmers would start thereafter, said chief Thapaliya.

The district is home to sugarcane farming spanning more than 20 hectares of the land.