Shimla: Apple growers across Himachal Pradesh are still awaiting payments worth Rs 6.12 crore, as fraud complaints against commission agents or arhtiyas continue to rise.Over the last three years, 379 complaints were registered against commission agents, accused of failing to pay horticulturists after procuring their produce, agriculture minister Chander Kumar informed the state legislative assembly during the third day of the ongoing budget session on Wednesday.Of the total cases, only 59 have been fully resolved and 10 were partially settled, resulting in the recovery of just Rs 1.93 crore. However, the majority of the dues remain unpaid, raising concerns among the horticulturists who make significant contribution to the hill state’s Rs 4,500-crore apple economy.Responding to a query by Congress MLA from Theog, Kuldeep Singh Rathore, the minister stressed the need to increase the fixed security deposit required from commission agents to deter fraudulent practices.Currently, these agents are required to deposit Rs 5 lakh for business up to Rs 15 crore, Rs 10 lakh for Rs 25-crore business, Rs 15 lakh for Rs 50-crore business, Rs 25-lakh for Rs 75-crore business, and Rs 50 lakh for transactions exceeding Rs 75 crore.The minister said the govt believed that apple growers should receive payment within a week of sale. Region-wise, the highest number of complaints — 191 cases involving Rs 2.38 crore in non-payments — were reported from the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi at Solan.Another 144 cases amounting to Rs 3.43 crore were registered in the APMC markets of Shimla and Kinnaur, while 44 complaints worth Rs 30.30 lakh came from Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti.Rathore alleged that the APMC authorities were not taking strict action against commission agents, arriving even from states such as Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.MLA LAD and Discretionary GrantsAs the opposition legislators strongly took up the issue, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured the House that the pending MLA Local Area Development (LAD) grant of Rs 1.10 crore per legislator for the 2025-26 fiscal year would be released before March 31, as provided in the current budget. For all 68 MLAs, the total pending amount stands at Rs 74.80 crore.Sukhu noted that with the financial year ending on March 31, the govt was also considering releasing discretionary grants. The CM said he would soon meet the leader of the opposition, Jai Ram Thakur, and other legislators to discuss the financial situation, especially after the stoppage of the revenue deficit grant (RDG), and to determine how much MLA LAD funding could be allocated henceforth.He also clarified that the MLAs could allocate only 10% of their annual Rs 2.20 crore MLA LAD entitlement to Mahila Mandals. Earlier, Thakur emphasised that if the budget was already passed, keeping its provisions pending was not in accordance with the constitutional spirit, and many development works were pending.No Guest House Without ApprovalNo new guest house in the state will be constructed without the approval of the cabinet, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri clarified on Wednesday. He said the central govt had made it clear that the state must bear the financial burden of the guest houses constructed in Himachal Pradesh out of the Jal Jeevan Mission funds, as guest house construction did not fall under the scheme’s mandate.Responding to a question from Dharampur MLA Chander Shekhar, Agnihotri said during the last three years, funds to the tune of Rs 2,101 crore were received under the Jal Jeevan Mission by the state, but Rs 1,227 crore was still pending with the Centre, out of which works worth Rs 600 crore were already completed.He also said the state govt had strongly raised the issue with the Centre to release Rs 1,227 crore at the earliest. Una MLA Satpal Singh Satti stressed the need for stricter monitoring to prevent misuse of funds in schemes for the purposes they were not intended for.MSID:: 128508949 413 |
