Pb fair price shop owners demand release of Rs 150 cr dues

Punjab Fair Price shop owners today alleged that the SAD-BJP government has not paid them Rs 150 crore of their dues for the distribution of foodgrain under the government's flagship 'Atta-Dal' scheme.
"We have not been paid about Rs 150 crore by the state government which has been pending for a long time," Punjab Depot Holders Union president Gurjinder Singh Sidhu told reporters here.
He claimed that as many as 26,000 depot holders have not received Rs 25 per quintal as commission for distributing wheat to beneficiaries in the state.
Moreover, the state government has also "failed" to reimburse transportation cost for delivering wheat from godowns to the beneficiaries' houses.

"The total outstanding amount of non-payment of commission and transportation is about Rs 150 crore," he claimed.
Depot holders also charged the food and supplies department with demanding money for the release of the money.
"The government has released money to the food and supplies department for the payment of our commission one year back. But the department officials are not releasing our payment and even some of their agents are demanding Rs 1,000 per depot for release of commission," he alleged.
Sidhu said to protest against the non-payment of their dues, four depot holders went on hunger strike at Mohali. "We will continue to fight against the government for our rights," he said.