Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
Looking to unlock the value of agricultural mandis, the Uttar Pradesh government has prepared a roadmap to liberalise and monetise the notified farm produce markets.
A slew of decisions to augment the revenue of notified mandis have been taken, including setting up of petrol/CNG stations, increasing marketing network by leveraging expressways, leasing of land etc.
At the 162nd UP Mandi Parishad Board meeting, presided over by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday evening, the government okayed the multipronged agenda to expand the kitty of mandis, provide better amenities to farmers and increase farm turnover.
Now, the Parishad will acquire suitable land flanking Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Ganga Expressway for developing agri markets/sub-markets. This will enable speedier transport to perishable farm produce, thus augmenting rural incomes.
The government has also cleared the proposal of allowing agri markets to offer leasehold to oil marketing companies for petrol/CNG vending stations.
Modi supports marked linked agri sector
UP assembly elections are slated for early next year in the backdrop of recent farm stir over now repealed central farm laws. Therefore, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is taking measures to propitiate farmers and position itself as a pro-farm government.
Meanwhile, the Yogi government has decided to recognise 1,544 agricultural marketing hubs (AMH) and 1,288 rural infrastructure centres in UP as mandis/sub-mandis to increase the network of notified markets.