Upasi requests for additional allocation for commodity boards

KOCHI: The United Planters’ Association of Southern India (Upasi) has requested the centre to sanction additional allocation to the commodity boards to enable them to disburse overdue amounts to the south Indian plantations immediately.

Upasi president AL RM Nagappan said this would go a long way in helping the south Indian growers to tide over the critical financial crisis they are in today to some extent.

``Plantations are going through a quite stressful period as they face the agrarian distress due to climate change and are not able fetch remunerative price for the plantation commodities,’’ he said.


Majority of the estates are making huge losses and struggling to carry out the day to day operations and make timely wage payments to the workers. Prospects of improvement in prices in the near future is bleak and they look forward for the immediate intervention of the government, he pointed out.

Substantial amounts are outstanding to the growers towards approved schemes of the commodity boards. ``In tea alone, Rs 55 crore is due as of now for south India. Allocation to the commodity boards are curtailed year after year and the meagre additional allocation made to the commodity boards in the current budget will not be sufficient to clear at least the pending dues,’’ Nagappan said.