The Deputy Commissioner M.G. Hiremath has assured farmers of looking into allegations of irregularity in the Jai Kisan Vegetable Market, a private agro–produce market that was set up recently in Belagavi.
He assured a delegation of farmers of issuing a direction to senior officers to look into allegations of illegal land conversion and hurried approval given to the market by the Agriculture Marketing Department.
In a meeting with officials in Belagavi on Tuesday, Bharatiya Krishik Samaj president Sidagouda Modagi told the Deputy Commissioner that the market has violated some basic rules. “It had obtained land conversion certificate in the name of a dead person and it had obtained approval even before the basic facilities were created in the proposed market. Most importantly, it is against the spirit of the regulated market access to farmers,’’ he said.
However, a farmer leader Ravi Patil argued in favour of the private market. He complained that APMC officers have been negligent about various complaints against the functioning of the APMC Yard. “We complained several times that farmers were suffering due to non-transparent deals and possible corruption in bidding and procurement of farm produce. But the officers have not resolved these issues,” Mr. Ravi Patil complained
Jai Kisan Vegetable Market Association president Diwakar Patil said that farmers will benefit from a private market as it will deregulate farm produce trade and introduce competition. It will release farmers from the clutches of middlemen, he said.
