SHRI CHANDRA SHEKHAR :

Hon’ble Speaker. Sir, the rural industries in the country, be it tea or some cottage industry are in bad condition. The owner of these industries don’t have enough funds. They can’t even pay minimum wages and due to this, labourers are working at the wages of Rupees 30-40 and eat up loaves of grass. On the one hand, the Government have made a policy to close-down rural industries and on the other hand, an assurance to make laws to provide them with more wages. I would like to ask the Minister as to “how long will it take to put an end to this contradiction?”