Provincial Minister for Food and Agriculture Arif Mustafa Jatoi has taken serious notice of excess recovery of charges and setting up illegal roadside 'check-post' by the contractors of Agriculture Market Committees in various parts of the province.
He directed the administrators of all market committees in the province to initiate immediate legal action against those found guilty of excess recovery of market fee, irrespective of their socio-political status.
He said that vigilance committees are being constituted to monitor the working of the market committee contractors and they would recommend action against those found violating the provisions of market committees contracts.
Director-General, Agriculture Extension and Research, Muhammad Akram Malik said that under the terms and conditions of the contract for recovery of market committee fee within the notified market areas of market committees liveable under section 19 of APM Act 1939 on the purchase and sale of the agricultural produce are described under the schedule of section2(a) of AP 1939 at the rates described vide Rule 29(11) 0f AP Market rule 1940 excluding sugar mills.
He said excess recovery or overcharges, on those items which are not included in the schedule, are clear-cut violation of the Act and conditions of the contract.
He said similarly the establishment of check post on main roads for the purpose of recovery is also violation of the contract. However, the market fee could be recovered from dealers at market as well as business places in accordance with the law.
He said that no market fee should be recovered from growers as growers are exempted from payment of market fee as per law. He said a directive has been communicated to administrators and contractors of market committees all over the province with the instruction that those found violating the APM Act should be brought to book.
Regarding auction of market committee he said that the contracts were awarded through open auction and were later authenticated by the competent authorities.
Shoukat Mastoi, Administrator, Market Committee, Hyderabad, where the food grain and seed grain merchants staged a protest demonstration on Thursday, said that those who were on the forefront of the protest demonstration were mostly the defaulters of market committee fee.
He released a list of defaulters facing trials in the Court of Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate.
He said the matter would be taken up with Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry with regard to defaulters of market fee.
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