SC stays next auction of Sec 39 mandi sites

The Supreme Court has stayed the further e-auction of shop-cum-office (SCO) sites at the new mandi in Sector 39. The court order has come as a big relief to the Sector 26 Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association, which has opposed the recent auction held as per the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007.

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A division Bench of the apex court has issued a notice to the UT Administration, the Chandigarh State Agricultural Marketing Board and the Estate Office to submit a reply within four weeks.

The petitioners (association and traders) said the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007, cannot be applied to a mandi where shop usage is restricted to commission agents (arhtiyas) selling vegetables. They also alleged that the administration went back on its assurance that it would first accommodate the original allottees of the Sector 26 mandi, who have been operating for over 50 years, in the site allotment at the new mandi.

Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed the traders’ petition, stating that they were attempting to derail the auction process. The Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association and 59 traders moved the Supreme Court on March 24.

The petitioners challenged the applicability of the Chandigarh Estate Rules, 2007, to the recently held auction of 23 shop-cum-offices (SCOs) in the new mandi, arguing that these rules exceed the scope of the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961. They claimed that the Chandigarh State Agricultural Marketing Board had adopted the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (General) Rules, 1962, for administration and licensing.

The traders also contended that the land for the new mandi was acquired using market committee funds collected from them through a 2% market fee over the years.

On March 31, the board auctioned 12 SCOs at the new mandi on a leasehold basis for nearly Rs 45 crore. It had received 34 bids for 16 SCOs, out of a total of 23 sites put up for the auction.

After the delay of nearly two decades, the UT Administration had decided to auction 23 SCOs in the first phase. For the first time, the auction was open to the general public as well.

Each shop, measuring 120 square yards, had a reserve price of Rs 3.70 crore. In the first phase, 23 out of the proposed 92 SCO sites were to be auctioned. The existing commission agents have been demanding these sites on a freehold basis.

The Sector 26 mandi operates on 24 acres, whereas the new facility in Sector 39 is spread over 75 acres, and is aimed at catering to the growing demands of the tricity.

A piece of land measuring 75 acres in Sector 39 was acquired in 1990 and the site was allotted for the new mandi in 2002. After the allotment of shops, the Sector 26 market will be denotified.