Sanghatana threatens stir over payments

NAGPUR, MAY 20: Shetkari Sanghatana leader Vijay Jawandhia has threatened to launch a satyagraha from June 7, to protest against the delay in payment of third instalments to cotton growers, under the Monopoly Procurement Scheme. The arrears calculated at the rate of Rs 370 per quintal, amount to over Rs 500 crore.

The decision of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance to make payments in three instalments and also to delay it, is a reminder of the emergency days, Jawandhia said in a statement issued here. With this delay in payment, the alliance government has lost the right to claim credit for offering higher prices to different varieties of cotton procured under the Monopoly Scheme. The prices offered range from Rs 1,900 to Rs 2,100 per quintal.