Delhi govt has allocated Rs 476 cr for development of mandis in city: Gopal Rai

The AAP government has allocated Rs 476.89 crore for the development of various mandis in the capital, including over Rs 175 crores for Aazadpur market, Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday.

Orders were also issued for the installation of CCTV cameras at all mandis in the capital, he said.

The decision was taken during a high-level meeting chaired by Rai with senior officials, including those from the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) and the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).


Rai said the DAMB has approved a budget of Rs 476.89 crore for the development of mandis in the capital.

He said of the total budget, Rs 178.73 crore has been kept for the development of Azadpur Mandi and renovation of Kisan Bhawan so that farmers can get temporary accommodation there.

He said Rs 13.34 crore has been allocated to the fruit and vegetable market in Ghazipur and Rs 13.96 crore for FP and EMC market in Ghazipur.

Moreover, Rs 8 crore for the development of the flower market, Rs 18.91 crore for APMC Keshopur, Rs 45.03 crore to APMC Narela, Rs 5.32 crore for APMC Najafgarh and Rs 193.57 crore for the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board has also been allocated, a statement said.

The Arvind Kejriwal government is committed to the development, expansion, and creation of better infrastructure in the mandis, Rai said.

"The Delhi Government will continue to work on these kinds of projects keeping in mind the important concerns relating to agriculture and farmers," he said.

During the meeting, instructions were given for the renovation of the Kisan Bhawan of Azadpur Mandi.

“Farmers come to Azadpur Mandi to sell their vegetables and fruits and sometimes they have to stay in hotels around the Mandi for one to two days which costs them a lot.

"Our government has issued orders for the renovation of Kisan Bhawan in order to protect farmers from similar difficulties and to provide better amenities,” Rai said.

To monitor the work being done in the Mandis, Rai said orders have been issued by the board to install CCTV cameras in all the Mandis in Delhi.

"With this, the security of the Mandis will be kept under strict surveillance and the movement of people will also be taken care of,” he said.