Bengaluru, Apr 11 (KNN) Congress Party MLA from Haliyal in Karnataka, RV Deshpande, has approached Centre to ask Public Sector Units (PSUs) to expedite payments to their micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) suppliers.

In a tweet, the MLA informed that the MSME vendors are struggling to get payments from PSU clients.

In this regard, he has even written a letter to Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Government of India.

Deshpande urged him to look into this matter and facilitate release of MSME payments on a priority basis.

"Government intervention highly essential in these testing times for MSMEs," he tweeted.

In the letter, Deshoade wrote, "...due to the lockdown, the country's economy is in very deep trouble. The MSME sector is hard hit and economic activity is almost at a standstill which is creating considerable disruption and unemployment."

He further wrote, "Majority of these MSMEs have been preferred by PSUs as their vendors. Now some of them have represented to me that the bills submitted by the MSMEs to PSUs are pending for payment."

Deshpande urged the Minister to issue instructions to the heads of PSUs to release the payments of MSMEs on priority basis.

He said this would ease out the financial stress at this testing time.

Recently, Nitin Gadkari, Union MSME Minister too had raised concern over the delayed payment in Rajya Sabha.

"Government undertakings procure products but do not pay for three-four months. MSMEs are on the verge of collapse. Passing a legislation is easy....There are 20,000-22,000 cases," Gadkari had told in the Rajya Sabha last month.

''As per my estimates, big industrialists, state government, central government undertakings owe Rs 5.5 lakh crore to Rs 6 lakh crore to small industries,'' he added. (KNN Bureau)