NEW DELHI: Success in business may be most Gujarati’s alter ego but the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee of Surat took it to the next level by constructing a mall and a five-star hotel on its land, which was acquired by Gujarat govt in the 1960s for the benefit of farmers.
A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and J B Pardiwala castigated Surat APMC for frittering away land meant for welfare of farmers.“This is a scam of the highest proportion. How could the APMC have used the surplus land for a mall and five-star hotel? Which law authorized it to take such a decision?”
Appearing for APMC, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said it was APMC’s land and the committee was free to put it to proper use for revenue generation. “How can the Gujarat HC direct the state to take over the land and property of APMC?” The hotel lease holder through senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta said there was no irregularity in the grant of the lease to run the hotel.
The bench remained unconvinced and said the HC passed the extreme order considering the level of irregularity in allotment of APMC land for a hotel and a mall. It dismissed the appeal of both the APMC and the leaseholder of the hotel.
The HC bench of CJ Sunita Agarwal and Aniruddha Mayee on March 27 had ordered the state to take possession of APMC’s five-star hotel constructed on the market yard’s land. It also ordered a public auction of the property and directed authorities to deposit the amount to the state’s market funds.
The bench ordered action against erring officials and APMC members responsible for construction of the luxurious hotel, which violated the aims and objectives of the market yard, for which the govt had acquired about 14,000 sq mt land.
The HC ordered the director of Agriculture, Marketing and Rural Finance to conduct inspection of ‘Krushi Bazar’ on allegations by a petitioner that shops in the mall were leased for sale of items like jewellery and clothes. It ordered closure of all activities in the mall that were not for the welfare of the farmers.
The SC’s view found broader acceptance in the December 2019 report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture. The Committee had severely criticized the way APMCs across India, except UP and Punjab, were managed and how they were acting in detriment to the benefit of farmers. It had recommended radical reform in APMC Act in the country.
A Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and J B Pardiwala castigated Surat APMC for frittering away land meant for welfare of farmers.“This is a scam of the highest proportion. How could the APMC have used the surplus land for a mall and five-star hotel? Which law authorized it to take such a decision?”
Appearing for APMC, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said it was APMC’s land and the committee was free to put it to proper use for revenue generation. “How can the Gujarat HC direct the state to take over the land and property of APMC?” The hotel lease holder through senior advocate Nidhesh Gupta said there was no irregularity in the grant of the lease to run the hotel.
The bench remained unconvinced and said the HC passed the extreme order considering the level of irregularity in allotment of APMC land for a hotel and a mall. It dismissed the appeal of both the APMC and the leaseholder of the hotel.
The HC bench of CJ Sunita Agarwal and Aniruddha Mayee on March 27 had ordered the state to take possession of APMC’s five-star hotel constructed on the market yard’s land. It also ordered a public auction of the property and directed authorities to deposit the amount to the state’s market funds.
The bench ordered action against erring officials and APMC members responsible for construction of the luxurious hotel, which violated the aims and objectives of the market yard, for which the govt had acquired about 14,000 sq mt land.
The HC ordered the director of Agriculture, Marketing and Rural Finance to conduct inspection of ‘Krushi Bazar’ on allegations by a petitioner that shops in the mall were leased for sale of items like jewellery and clothes. It ordered closure of all activities in the mall that were not for the welfare of the farmers.
The SC’s view found broader acceptance in the December 2019 report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture. The Committee had severely criticized the way APMCs across India, except UP and Punjab, were managed and how they were acting in detriment to the benefit of farmers. It had recommended radical reform in APMC Act in the country.