Mandis in Madhya Pradesh have been badly hit in recent months.
At a time when the governments at the centre and Madhya Pradesh have been espousing the benefits of the new farm laws and assuring that wholesale agriculture markets, or mandis, will remain open, the state agricultural marketing board has been looking at a huge loss and an uncertain future.
The board suffered a dip in revenue from Rs 88 crore in January 2020 to Rs 29.26 crore in January 2021 - a dip of over 66 per cent.
This comes after the centre passed the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act 2020 - one of the three new agricultural laws that have triggered massive protests by farmers and allowed the sale of farm produce outside government-run mandis.
Now, the Madhya Pradesh government plans to develop clinics, petrol pumps, shopping complexes inside the mandis with the help of private players, NGOs with an obvious intent of generating revenues.
Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel said, "We will make mandi an ideal market. Mandi and MSP (Minimum Support Price) both will remain. We are planning to provide a nice environment for the farmers so there will be a bank, petrol pump, shops for fertiliser seeds. Grocery items, like the army canteen where they can purchase things at much lower rates. We will give smart cards to farmers, the income of mandis will also increase. We will take the cooperation of the private sector and NGOs."
However, many mandi board officials say they feel there is no chance of a revival of the markets in the state. There are 259 such mandis and 298 sub-mandis in Madhya Pradesh. The tax on the sale of produce in agriculture markets has been reduced and, farmers are free to sell their crop outside the government-run markets, they say.
Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board Association president BB Faujdar said, "This plan may be feasible for around 40 A-class mandis, which are bigger but not for smaller mandis. It's clear that without revenue, they will close small mandis in the state."
All mandis witnessed a drop in farmers coming in - varying from 4 per cent in Indore to 71 per cent in Rewa. Out of 259 mandis in the state, 47 reported zero business in October while 143 have recorded a massive drop of between 50 to 60 per cent in the past six months. Data also shows that 298 sub-mandis of the state, which run seasonally, have recorded zero business in the last six months and are on the verge of closure.
There are 6,500 employees employed in these mandis and around 2,500 pensioners dependant on the mandi board. They have 45,000 registered traders. The mandi board takes 1.5 per cent tax from these traders, pay 0.5 per cent to the government and 1 per cent is used for the salary and pension of board employees.
In October, mandi board officials, porters and traders held a massive protest and tried to picket the Vallabh Bhawan against the state Model Mandi Act.
With the dip in revenue and leasing plan of the government, employees are apprehensive. Madhya Pradesh Mandi Board Association president BB Faujdar said, "Madhya Pradesh was the first state in the country where the mandi board employees, traders, porters opposed the new laws... We know what the condition is and what will happen in future. They are creating a situation like Bihar. We are fighting but it may not stop. Last year, the revenue was around Rs 1,200 crore. This time, we will earn around Rs 700-800 crore. But from next year, the earnings will dip further. We are giving grants to 50-60 mandis across the state for the past few months as they were not able to pay the salary. It's clear that the government intends to close the mandis."
Though Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan maintained mandis will remain operational and no mandi will be closed, the Congress is not convinced. Party spokesperson Bhupendra Gupta said the government is trying to privatise the mandis. "47 mandis have been almost closed. Farmers are not able to sell their produce in these mandis. Still, the government is talking about opening a mall, because they are eyeing the land. BJP should stop cheating farmers," he said.