(a) whether it is a fact that the Government is seriously contemplating to develop Gramin Haats as Krishi Bazars in the country;
(b) if so, whether the Government is contemplating to develop Gramin Haats of Anand and other districts of Gujarat as Krishi Bazars;
(c) if so, the number and the names of places where Krishi Bazars are likely to be developed and the time by when these Krishi Bazars are likely to be developed; and
(d) if not, the reasons therefor?
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
???? ??? ????? ?????? ?????? (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)
(a) to (d): Yes Sir. As per Union Budget Announcement, 2018-19, the Government has announced to develop and upgrade existing 22,000 Gramin haats into Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs). In these GrAMs, physical infrastructure will be strengthened using Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) and other Government Schemes. These GrAMs, electronically linked to e-NAM and exempted from regulation of APMCS, will provide farmers facility to make direct sale to consumer and bulk purchasers.
The Government has circulated Guidelines on Operation and Management of GrAMs to all States to facilitate and promote better management of GrAMs. Further, the Government has approved an Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund (AMIF) with a corpus of Rs.2000 crore with National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) for developing and upgrading agricultural marketing infrastructure in the 10,000 Gramin Haats and 585 Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Markets. Development of basic infrastructure in village haats is carried out by local bodies with district authorities through MGNREGS based on their requirement. The local bodies of Anand and other districts of Gujarat are free to take it up, as per their requirements. As reported by Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, development work had been undertaken in three village haats in Gujarat under MGNREGS.
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