379 cases of non-payment after apple purchases in 3 years: Himachal Pradesh minister

SHIMLA: (Feb 18) Himachal Pradesh Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar on Wednesday highlighted the emergence of 379 cases of non-payment towards apple purchases in three APMCs in as many years.

Of the total, 144 complaints pertain to Shimla and Kinnaur, 191 to Solan, and 44 were registered in Kullu and Lahaul-Spiti districts, according to the Agricultural Produce Market Committees, or APMCs, the minister said in the state Assembly.

Replying to a question of Congress MLA from Theog segment, Kuldeep Rathore, the minister said that the outstanding liabilities towards these purchases amounted to Rs 8.05 crore, out of which Rs 1.93 crore has been disbursed to apple growers in 69 cases, while an amount of Rs 6.12 crore is still pending.