| Khanduri delays Act for contract farming | |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi/ Dehra Dun November 21, 2008, 0:48 IST | |
A move to enact Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in Uttarakhand is yet to see the light of the day despite being approved by a sub-committee of the state Cabinet.
Soon after the sub-committee headed by Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat gave its approval, the APMC draft bill was sent to Chief Minister BC Khanduri, who again suggested certain changes including the study of such Act in three other states.
This has upset the agriculture ministry’s plans as it was assumed that the decision of the sub-committee was final.
“When the sub-committee takes a decision, there is no scope to make further changes,” said a top government official.
The matter related to certain amendments in the proposed APMC Act came up in the state cabinet meeting in May this year but it was further referred to a three-member sub-committee of the state Assembly.
Though no reasons are being cited in this regard, top officials admitted that the government was a bit hesitant to pass the Act before the coming Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, there had been opposition from various quarters against the opening of Reliance Retail showrooms under the brand of Reliance Fresh.
The sources said the government’s reluctance on the APMC Act has blocked top-notch companies like Reliance, ITC and Mother Dairy from directly entering into the agriculture sector in the state. These companies are ready to invest Rs 2,000 crore in the hill state through different proposals, said an agriculture department official.
Both Reliance and ITC have shown interest in contract farming in the state for which the government has to pass the APMC bill.
ITC has got a bulk purchase licence from the state government for procuring 25,000 tonnes of wheat.
Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is also likely to put up its proposal for procuring both food grain and horticultural produce soon and has plans to invest Rs 1,200 crore in agriculture.
The bulk purchase licences will allow companies to buy directly from farmers ahead of setting up private ‘mandis’ in the state.
The APMC Act contains provisions for setting up these mandis, enabling contract farming and constitution of a regulatory authority to ensure a level playing field between the government-controlled mandis and the private ones. Private mandis would mean cutting out extra cess such as the mandi cess and other charges, reducing final costs for consumers and buyers and allowing better gains for farmers, officials said.
In effect, the new APMC Act would mean direct purchase of commodities at market-defined prices by trading and corporate houses from farmers, either through individual purchase contracts or from farmer/consumer markets.
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