The Bill, which seeks to undo the changes that were brought by the BJP government in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had been referred to the select committee by the Legislative Council.
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Recommending reforms to the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) in the State, the select committee of the Legislative Council to which the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was referred to, submitted its report to the House on Wednesday.
The submission of the report is expected to pave way for its introduction that will restore the APMC jurisdiction for transactions of agriculture produce and mandatory licensing for traders.
The Bill, which seeks to undo the changes that were brought by the BJP government in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had been referred to the select committee by the Legislative Council that had not passed it when it was placed in July 2023. Earlier, the Bill had been introduced in the Legislative Assembly on July 5, 2023, that was passed on July 17. On July 18, the Legislative Council had referred the Bill to the select committee headed by APMC Minister Shivanand Patil.
Protecting properties
“The committee has agreed with the restoration of the law prior to its amendment in 2020. We have also made 29 recommendations to reform the APMCs. One of the biggest concerns is to protect the properties of APMCs whose value is estimated to be about ₹15,000 crore,” a member of the select committee told The Hindu. “The amendment is likely to be moved during this session.”
The report stated that of the four APMCs that the committee visited, the changes brought by BJP regime was supported in Kalaburagi APMC. The APMCs in Kolar, Shivamogga, and Raichur welcomed the government move to amend the Act restoring the old provisions.
While farmers’ groups had protested the dilution of APMC Act by the BJP regime that meant the agriculture produce could be sold anywhere, the Congress had promised to revert to the earlier APMC regime in the election manifesto. Though the farmers had opposed the changes brought to the Act by BJP, they had also pointed out at glaring problems in the APMC yard that required reforms.
Recommendations
Among the 29 recommendations made by the committee are introduction of online facility in the market yard to bring quick and transparent transactions, revival of defunct APMC yards that have seen transactions decline due to changes in crop pattern or being old, keeping 5% of the total APMC transactions to strengthen financially weak APMCs and integrating financially weaker APMCs with stronger ones, renting out warehouses on APMC premises to farmers at a discount, and simplification of licensing procedure.
While the committee said that construction of warehouses should be based on demand, it has also recommended demand based construction of cold storage facilities.
Apart from recommending filling up of vacant posts and training for APMC personnel, the committee has said that restrooms and toilets facilities should be provided along with social security schemes for workers, remove encroachments from APMC properties, discount in property tax payments, appointment of Ombudsman at the state level to hear disputes arising in APMCs and taking steps to prevent adulteration of notified agriculture produce. It has also suggested an international level flower market at Devanahalli.