Peeved Himachal to set up own Sabzi Mandi; goes to court against Delhi

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New Delhi: The Delhi government has still not implemented the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) Act, and Himachal Pradesh government is angry about it. Peeved by this, Himachal Pradesh will set up its own Sabzi Mandi in Haryana in Kundli at Delhi-Haryana border.

The Himachal Pradesh government, according to Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Minister, Narendra Bragta, will also file a case against the Delhi government for non-implementation of the APMC Act.

The APMC Act ensures the interest of fruit and vegetable growers. As per the Act, middlemen have to charge commission from the buyers and not the fruit growers, as has been the tradition. While the APMC Act has been implemented across the country, middlemen in Delhi’s premium Azadpur Mandi still charge commission from the fruit and vegetable growers.

According to Bragta, Himachal Pradesh government will seek judicial intervention to seek directions to the Delhi government to implement the APMC Act at the earliest, so that interests of the Himachal fruit growers can be safeguarded.

Bragta further informed that the commission agents at Azadpur Mandi were charging eight per cent commission from the fruit growers, instead of the legal six per cent.

“This overcharging practice has been brought to the knowledge of Delhi’s Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dixit many times in the past, but she’s failed to take any positive action on the matter,” Bragta said, adding, “The Delhi government seems to be functioning under the influence of the powerful traders lobby who exploit and fleece the fruit growers of  Himachal Pradesh and other northern states.”

He apprised that a delegation of Horticulture Ministers from the hilly states had met Dixit prior to the Delhi Assembly elections. She, according to him, had assured all that fruit growers would be provided relief and facilities after the elections were over. “Yet the Delhi government has not made any significant step to solve the fruit growers problems,” he lamented.

He also informed that Himachal will set up a separate Sabzi Mandi in the NCR (National Capital Region in Kundli in Haryana. Kundli stands on the Delhi-Haryana border. “We are taking this step following the raw treatment being meted out to the Himachali horticulturists in   Asia’s biggest Sabzi Mandi in Azadpur, Delhi,” Bragta said.

The new Sabzi Mandi would be set up in an area of 14,000 sq yard land, which is owned by the Himachal government. This fruit and vegetable market would cater to and meet the demands of  Himachal, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir horticulturists.

The new market would have controlled atomosphere stores and the APMC Act will be implemented. Further, no commission would be charged from the fruit growers coming to the market.

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4 COMMENTS

  1. this is very good luck to all himachali grovers and government should take action over it as soon as possible to make every himachali echonomically sound.

  2. <div align=justify>Whatever noble intentions the govt may harbor I have doubts that it is so easy to break the Azadpur mandi mafia grip. Previously, a mandi was set up at Parwanoo with the same intention but the idea flopped as no buyers came there. Same can happen at this new mandi. The bigger commission agents place there agents in new mandis and start buying at lower rates thus forcing the farmers to go back to Azadpur mandi.

    No govt in Delhi will ever go against these agents as they are one of the major fund raisers for the respective parties. The money fleeced from the farmers as commission ultimately goes into the political parties kitty. In fact every govt. in the state has been doing a lip service on this issue. A tap on the back from the big wigs in Delhi will be enough for any 'minister' to keep quite who wishes to take this matter vigorously.</div align=justify>

  3. Besides, setting up a new-mandi at Kundli, Govt. need to allow only the domiciled Himachali to run the fruit/vegetable agency in a transparent manner.

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