Can Punjab Declare The State As ‘Principal Market Yard

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The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Bill.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.
To nullify the negative impact of the Agricultural Bill on Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation),
SAD president Sukhbir Badal has suggessted to Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to declare the entire state as a ‘Principal Market Yard’.

What is Principal Market Yard?

According to Punjab Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act, there are 3 types of yards under the Punjab Mandi Board (PMB) —
Principal Market Yard,
Sub Yard,
Purchase centres.
These yards are notified by the PMB in a specific area in certain acres.
As per APMC Act, the PMB has-
151 principal market yards,
287 sub yards and
Over 1,400 small mandis or purchase centres.
Proper infrastructure is developed in these principal yards which included civic amenities, sheds, office buildings, canteen, platform, canteen roads, electrification and even public health facilities.
The small mandis have temporary arrangements of minimum civic amenities during the procurement season.

The provisions of the present Acts by the Center exempt these yards or marked areas from the jurisdiction of the legislation.
As a result, private players who enter the market will have to compete under the same set of laws as applicable to state procurement

Renowned Economist Prof Sardara Singh Johal told,
“I think it is possible under its own APMC
Then the bigger question here is how the state government will manage the entire state as a market yard”.
In the current yards of PMB, he added, there is market committee staff to manage the sale and purchase.
“How the state will manage the sale purchase outside the PMB yards?”
Thus the government will have to develop a system to bring every purchaser under one tax regime in the state.
Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) Dakaunda, said
“It is a political statement and difficult to implement ”

Dr Johal warned that-
Such a step could isolate Punjab and be beyond the centre’s Bills on agriculture applicable to the rest of India.
Prof Gian Singh, retired Economics Professor of the Punjab University in Patiala, said that-
The Centre, which purchases the wheat and paddy of Punjab, may not like the idea if the state nullifies its Bills and
Could decide now to purchase from the state, an annual expenditure of Rs 65,000 crore.
“The state government does not have money to pay its staff’s salaries then how it will purchase this huge crop?
Even if the Punjab government purchase it, where it will be stored?
The state does not have the infrastructure to store it because centre’s Food Corporation of Indian (FCI) manages the entire storage of wheat and paddy in the state,”
The SAD president also said,
“In the event of the failure of Captain to revoke these amendments, the SAD will revoke these in the first cabinet meeting when we form a government in the state.”