Sources said the minister has, in fact, issued instructions for stopping the purchase, but many PACs have already sent the drafts.

In certain divisions, like Saharanpur, Meerut and Moradabad, about 50 per cent of the PACs have sent demand drafts to the Ghaziabad-based firm.

In April, NABARD had released Rs 340 crore to the UP Co-operative Bank for revival of DCBs and PACs as per the recommendations made by the Vaidyanathan Committee.

This was the first installment of a package sanctioned for the state since around 80 per cent of the PACs were deep in red and could not pay the salary to their staff. Once the money reached the PACs and DCBs, the joint registrars were asked to get drafts made for the purchase of crockery.

An official of the Lucknow division said, “In this division, out of the 600 PACs, 400 are in no position to shell out Rs 5,320. We have no other source of income.”

When asked how PACs will foot the bill, the official said the the society will make a fake entry in the loan account of farmers, or manipulate the stock register of fertilisers or resort to some other malpractice.

The leaders of the cooperative movement, who were removed by the present BSP Government, are up in arms. “We will fight against the order,” said Dharmendra Yadav, SP Party MP and former chairman of the UP Cooperative Bank. “We will never tolerate this loot of farmers’ money. The order will deprive the farmers of at least Rs 6 crore,” said Kailash Yadav, former chairman of Etah DCB.