No plan in place to run AC fruit & veggie market in Mohali

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, June 25

Though the Punjab Mandi Board is claiming that the state’s first air-conditioned fruit and vegetable market in Phase XI, Mohali, would start functioning within four to five months, it apparently has no concrete plan in this regard.

A senior official of the board claimed that the market in question would start functioning within four-five months but when asked about any plan in this connection, he was found virtually clueless.

He admitted that there was no such plan right now but maintained that talks were on with wholesale dealers of fruits and vegetables.

It is to be noted that no trader has shown interest in the air-conditioned fruit and vegetable market, which was inaugurated by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in February 2014 with much fanfare.

The authorities had tried to auction the shops at least twice in the recent past but in the absence of any taker, the auctions proved a damp squib. Even efforts of handing over the arena to some private players in the recent past yielded no results. So far, the market, on which a whopping Rs 50 crores was spent, has been used for political functions and election rallies.

“High rates of shops are the main reason behind its failure,” said the wholesale dealers, who run their business at the grain market in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

A Chandigarh-based wholesale dealer of vegetables and fruits, Tajinder Pal Singh said undoubtedly, the concept of an air-conditioned market was attractive and beneficial for the product. “But high rates of shops discouraged the traders. If they want to make the project successful, they have to decrease rates of the shops”, said Tajinder Pal Singh.

The wholesale dealer was also of the view that the government should also offer a part of the market on rent. The reserve price for a retail shop was fixed at Rs 1.54 crore while that of an AC booth was Rs 40 lakh. There are a total of 129 shops and booths in the AC market.