Finally, grain market to shift to new location in Sector 39, Chandigarh

Dushyant Singh Pundir

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Chandigarh, December 15

After nearly 20 years, the Grain, Fruit and Vegetable Market from Sector 26 will finally be shifted to Sector 39.

UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit today gave approval to the auction of 92 120 sq yd SCOs on a freehold basis at the new market under the Chandigarh Estate Rules.

Commission agents oppose auction norm

• Commission agents have opposed auction under the Estate Rules, 2007. They want allotment under Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board Rules, 1961
• Sites should be allotted at reserve prices based on cost of land and infra, not current market value, says Brij Mohan, Sabzi Mandi Arhitya Association chief

Site allocated two decades ago

• 75 acres acquired in Sector 39 in 1990, site allotted for a new grain market in 2002
• In 2015, HC asks UT to make Sector 39 market functional
• Shifting delayed as UT awaited MHA nod to allotment process
• Sec 26 market to be de-notified post allotment of shops
• Market to be shifted by March next year; auction to be done in 3 months

The issue of shifting of present market from Sector 26 to Sector 39 has been pending for long. A piece of land measuring 75 acres was acquired in 1990 and the site was allotted for the second market in Sector 39 in 2002.

Now, 92 SCO sites at Fruits and Vegetable Market will be put up for auction as per terms and conditions of the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007. First preference will be given to the existing licensees of Sector-26 market, said an official.

After the allotment of shops in the new market, the Sector 26 market will be de-notified in a phased manner. The process of auction will be completed within three months and the market is expected to be shifted by March or April next year, said the official.

An official said the shifting of the market from Sector 26 to the new site was delayed as the UT Administration was waiting for permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to adopt the process for the allotment of space at the new site.

The administration had requested the MHA vide a letter dated May 5, 2021, followed by reminders, to grant permission for adopting the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board (Sale and Transfer of Plots) Rules, 1961, for disposing of sites at the second market in Sector 39. In the absence of nod from MHA, the UT decided to allot the new sites under the Estate Rules.

Brij Mohan, president, Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association, Sector 26, said they would oppose the auction of the sites under the Estate Rules, 2007. He said the administration should allot the sites according to the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board (Sale and Transfer of Plots) Rules, 1961.

Mohan said the process of shifting the Sector 26 market to Sector 39 was started in 2007. He said the sites should be allotted at reserve prices to be calculated on the basis of the cost of the land and the amount spent on creating the infrastructure, instead of the current market value of the land.

In August 2015, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the UT Administration to make the Sector 39 market functional. In its affidavit, the administration had assured the market would be made operational by March 31, 2016, but nothing had been done all this while.