U'khand expert team to study APMC Act

A four-member expert team of agriculturists today left for Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to study the impact of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act in the states.

The APMC Act is yet to see the light of the day in Uttarakhand despite being approved by a sub-committee of the state cabinet.

Soon after the sub-committee headed by Agriculture Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat gave its approval, the APMC draft bill was sent to the office of the then Chief Minister B C Khanduri, who again suggested certain changes, including study of such act in other states.

“According to the suggestion of the government, a four-member team will tour Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to study the APMC Act there,” Rawat told Business Standard.

The matter related to certain amendments in the proposed APMC Act came in the state cabinet meeting last year but it was further referred to a three-member sub-committee of the state Assembly.

Though no reasons were being given in this regard, top officials admitted that the government was a bit hesitant to pass the Act before studying its various implications.

Moreover, there had been opposition from various quarters against the APMC Act. The sources said the government’s reluctance on APMC Act had blocked top-notch companies like Reliance, ITC and Mother Dairy from entering into agriculture sector directly in the state.

These companies are ready to invest in the state through different proposals, an official of the agriculture department said.