Sources said that along with a maximum grant of Rs 7 lakh per production, theatre production houses or individual producers are likely to get other demands fulfilled, including payment of electricity bills for an auditorium as per domestic rates and a decent honorarium for senior theatre personalities.

The demand for the grant and other benefits was raised by producers like Vinay Apte, Machhindra Kambli, Lata Narvekar and Prabhakar Panshikar, among others, about three months ago.

The proposal forwarded to the government divided Marathi theatre producers/production houses into four categories, viz, those who have consistently produced plays for over 25 years, those who have been in the field for 15 to 25 years, those working for 10 to 15 years and newcomers to the industry.

Sources said the group suggested that the grantbe largely decided according to the producers' needs, and that if the government did sanction a grant of Rs 7 lakh, producers should return at least Rs 2 lakh to the state government in three years. Returning the amount will make producers responsible for the money they have been given, sources said. The proposal also suggested that if a producer failed to return the amount, he should not be sanctioned another grant. The group of producers had also suggested that the producer be made to buy his own stage property with the grant.

Last week, Chief Minister Narayan Rane had said the government would take a decision on the demands soon. ``Theatrepersons have never asked for any government assistance all these years. But production prices have shot up phenomenally in recent times and the industry, which has won Maharashtra many accolades on the cultural front, is bogged down with financial pressures,'' sources at the cultural affairs department said.

Over 60 to 70 Marathi commercial plays are staged everyyear, and the average cost of production of any play with five to six characters and a single set comes to Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh. And if a play tours the state (most Marathi plays do) the expenses incurred per person per day amount to Rs 150. ``The state government does not charge passenger tax on producers' buses that carry theatre units across the state. But if these demands are met, it will be a great boost to the industry, and Marathi theatre will reach the interiors of the state that have been deprived of it for long,'' sources said.