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Ensure rest rooms, canteens for farmers in mandis: U.P. CM Yogi
Yogi Adityanath issued directions in this connection in 170th meeting of the Board of Directors of the State Agricultural Produce Market Committee
Agriculture mandis in Uttar Pradesh will have rest rooms and affordable canteens for farmers with chief minister Yogi Adityanath issuing directions in this connection in the 170th meeting of the Board of Directors of the State Agricultural Produce Market Committee here on Tuesday.
“There should be provisions for rest rooms and affordable canteens for farmers who visit mandis for sale and purchase of agri commodities,” he said while presiding over the board’s meeting as the chairman of the Mandi Parishad.
He said all other arrangements for farmers’ convenience and safety should be ensured in Mandis. “There should be good arrangements for cleanliness, drainage, adequate lighting and prevention of waterlogging. Adequate arrangements for toilets and drinking water should also be made,” he said.
The CM highlighted that despite reducing the market fee to a minimum, the mandis had made a good contribution to revenue collection.
“In the financial year 2022-23, the income was ₹1,553 crore, whereas in 2023-24, it was approximately ₹1,862 crore. Additionally, in the first quarter of the current financial year, around ₹400 crore revenue has already been collected,” he said directing officials to spend an increasing revenue for the benefit of the farmers.
There should be no encroachment in the market premises. The expansion of a shop should be within its designated area. This arrangement should be effectively implemented, the CM said. He further said the procedure for exempting newly established processing units from market fees should be simplified.
Stating that in the market committees (mandies) of Gorakhpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bareilly and Moradabad, user charges were levied on edible oils, the CM directed the officials to abolish the same in the interest of traders.
“If a trader trades in edible oils worth at least as much as other agricultural products subject to market fees or user charges throughout the year, no user charges should be levied on edible oil,” he said.
Yogi said manual auction system should be phased out and replaced with e-auction for greater transparency. The CM said public representatives had been demanding the construction of haat-markets in some urban areas in addition to rural areas.
He said respecting this demand, good haat-markets should be constructed in town panchayats, municipal councils or municipal corporations as per local needs.
