| A statement of Maharashtra's financial situation to be presented to chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh states: "For the two quarters remaining in the current fiscal an income of Rs 20, 578 crore is expected to be generated, while an allocation of Rs 29, 685 crore would be needed to finance expenditure. In addition to this expenditure, suddenly arisen expenditure like the free power to agriculturists and procurement of cotton under the monopoly scheme of the state is expected to further increase the expenditure burden by Rs 1643 crore, leading to a revenue deficity in excess of Rs 10,000 crore at the end of the October 2004 to March 2005 period of six months." |
| A secretariat source said that while the ensuing winter session of the state legislature, beginning in Nagpur from December 6, 2004, will witness a supplementary demand of Rs 1100 crore being made to meet the free power sop, announced before the assembly elections, cotton procurement might become a millstone around the cash-strapped government in the current fiscal. |
| According to a co-operative department official, a bumper cotton crop in the state this year has resulted in lower market rates being offered by private ginning and spinning mills. |
| "While the minimum support price of Rs 1960 a quintal has been announced by the Union government, the Maharashtra government has pledged to procure cotton from agriculturists at a rate of Rs 2500 a quintal. An expected Rs 1.30 lakh to 1.50 lakh quintals of cotton is expected to be procured by the state under the monopoly scheme. This may go up to even 1.70 lakh quintal placing an additional stress on available resources of the government." |
| The first four days of cotton procurement at 80 centres set up across the state has witnessed 50,000 quintal of cotton being procured by the state government. |
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