‘₹4,400 CR WILL BE PAID ONLINE TO ARHTIYAS’

CHANDIGARH: The state government will pay ₹4,400 crore to the commission agents tonight for wheat procurement, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Wednesday.

Khattar said with this, a sum of ₹5,900 crore would have been credited in the bank accounts of arhtiyas by Wednesday night as the state government had already paid ₹1,500 crore to them between April 20 and 26. The payment of ₹4,400 crore pertains to the wheat procurement done between April 26 and May 5.

“Remuneration to the farmers will be released through commission agents in the next three days,” he said. Using the online payment system, the state government has decided to electronically route the food grain procurement remuneration to the farmers through the commission agents. This is for the first time that wheat farmers will get money in their bank accounts.

“The online payment mechanism will bring transparency in transactions,” said an official. On whether the state government was contemplating a revival package for the industry in Haryana, Khattar said they have already initiated several measures to support the MSMEs.

The Haryana MSME revival interest benefit scheme is one such measure. It entails that all MSME units functioning in the state as on or before March 15, will be eligible for 100% interest benefit on loans availed for payment of wages to employees. This interest benefit will also be available on other expenses up to a maximum of ₹20,000 per employee for a period of six months, the chief minister said.

Also, the state government will pay the fee for credit guarantee fund trust for micro and small enterprise (CGTMSE) for the loans taken by MSMEs to disburse employee salaries. Besides, the industrial units whose power bills for March, April and May would be half of the average of January and February would be entitled to a 25% rebate on the fixed charge.

The remaining 75% amount will have to be deposited from July to December in six equal instalments.