Labour woes of MP millers

The poha (crushed rice) and de-husking millers of Madhya Pradesh are facing an acute labour shortage due to drought-like conditions and attractive wages offered by neighbouring states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The poha and rice mills are also under pressure due to high cost of power in the state. The labour problem has pushed a number of profit-making units to switch over to automatic plants.

Madhya Pradesh has poha mills and de-husking mills, mainly in Balaghat, Jabalpur, Indore, Ujjain, Seoni and Dabra. Poha is consumed in all parts of the state. The state of Madhya Pradesh has more than 300 poha mills.

According to a conservative estimate, most of the millers are in the Balaghat district, which is a backward district of the state. There are approximately 60 units that crush 2,000 quintals of rice per day to feed 5,000 families in that area.

"The labourers are migrating to neghbouring states. They get higher wage in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In Nagpur, the poha mills offer them Rs 120 per day, against the wages offered here in MP at Rs 80 per day, with limited working hours," a miller from Balaghat informed Business Standard.

The new units, which are coming up in the district, are switching over to automatic plants, though it is a costly affair.

"An automatic poha mill costs Rs 25 lakh, while a manually-operated machine costs hardly Rs 1-1.25 lakh," said Dalchand Choradia, president, Balaghat Chambers of Commerce, adding that the poha mills feed the poor people, and if the problem persisted, the existence of these mills will be impossible.

When contacted, officials of the department of industry and various industry cells of the state were unable to tell how many poha units were in the state. The state industrial promotion policy is also silent about the small units.

The units are also facing an acute fund crunch and have demanded a tax exemption under Section 80 (I) (B) of the Income Tax Act, which is offered to the units of backward districts that have started commercial production before April 1, 2004.

But according to Choradia, "the late supply of machineries due to power-cuts and shortage of construction workers because of state and general elections, have stalled the commercial production at new units. The Centre must provide exemptions to new units in the backward districts and the limit should be extended up to June 2006."

The millers have also demanded flexibility in labour laws, proper training and other benefits from the state government.

Against the grain

• Rice millers of Madhya Pradesh are facing an acute labour shortage due to drought-like conditions and attractive wages offered by neighbouring states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• The rice mills are also under pressure due to high cost of power in the state.
• The labour problem has pushed a number of profit-making units to switch over to automatic plants.