Dilapidated APMC onion-potato market gets propped up with iron pillars

The wholesale Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) onion-potato market at Vashi, which has been declared “extremely dangerous” and is long awaiting redevelopment, is now depending on iron rod angles for support T

NAVI MUMBAI: The wholesale Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) onion-potato market at Vashi, which has been declared “extremely dangerous” and is long awaiting redevelopment, is now depending on iron rod angles for support. The measure has been taken to prevent a likely catastrophe even as the administration looks for alternative locations to shift the market temporarily and finalise a redevelopment plan.

Navi Mumbai, India - Dec. 30, 2024:`DangerousÕ APMC onion-potato market awaiting redevelopment ,Jaykumar Rawal. Minister of Marketing and Protocol, Minister visited , APMC onion-potato marketat Vashi in Navi Mumbai, India, on Monday, December 30, 2024. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

The APMC administration has begun installing iron pillars adjacent to the dilapidated pillars to support the galas and buildings along with undertaking repair work wherever necessary. The state government, meanwhile, has assured an early decision on redevelopment and declared that it is also working on a Maha Mumbai market that will be “better than any other market in the world”.

The redevelopment talks have been ongoing since 2005 without any concrete action being taken. The delay has been blamed on a lack of funds and the demands of the traders with respect to the redevelopment plans. The issue was revived a couple of years ago, and efforts were made to speed up the process.

Ashok Karp, an onion trader, said that traders, mathadis, retailers and other stakeholders were continuing to risk their lives on a daily basis by working at the market which has been slotted in the C1 category (dangerous) by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC). “There are regular instances of plaster falling and visible rusted rods within the structures,” he said, adding that hopefully the putting up of iron rod angles would not lead to complacency in the redevelopment process.

In 1981, when the government decided to shift the city’s wholesale markets to Navi Mumbai, the onion-potato market was the first to be relocated. It was constructed by CIDCO in 1979-80 at Turbhe on a 7.92-hectare plot of land. The shoddy construction, however, led to the market beginning to crumble within years and it was put in the C1 category by the NMMC in 2003.

Meetings that began two years ago to revive the redevelopment plan were hit on account of the elections taking precedence. Last year, after ceiling plaster crashed down in the office of the APMC secretary, the issue once again came into focus.

In view of the resource crunch, the administration proposed a build-operate-transfer model for redevelopment by a private developer A consultant was appointed, and at a meeting in July, the majority of traders gave their consent to the proposal.

APMC secretary P L Khandagale had then said, “We are working on a redevelopment proposal, and it should be finalised soon. Meanwhile, we are looking at options to shift the market. There is a plot near the Mafco market and some new buildings, which have not been sold yet, where the traders can shift. The auction hall in the market will be repaired to house the traders.”

With not much progress on the proposals thereafter, the administration has begun to give support to the front and rear pillars of all the 240 galas in the market with iron rods. Around ₹40 lakh is being spent on this.

According to Suresh Mohade, executive engineer, APMC, “We are working on the redevelopment plans for the market. The iron angles are being installed as a precautionary measure in the interim.”

Said an APMC official, “The decision on redevelopment is in the final stages with technical issues being sorted out now. Once the government approval is in place, the path to redevelopment will finally be a reality.”

State marketing minister Jayakumar Rawal, who reviewed the market’s condition on Monday and held meetings with stakeholders, said, “Upgradation of the market is long due, and we are committed to it. The market was constructed 45 years ago and is in a dilapidated state for various reasons, including the fact that it is close to the creek. There is definitely a need to redevelop it at the earliest and we shall be taking it up as soon as possible.”

Rawal added that Maharashtra had “always shown the way to the country”. “We are hence working on plans to develop a Maha Mumbai market here that is bigger and better than the best of the markets in the world,” he concluded.