50 acres of APMC land waits to see development for past 17 years

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

For the past 17 years, 50 acres of land in the Super Agriculture Produce Market Committee (SAPMC) at Jadhavwadi has been under the control of the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MASAMB). Since then, various projects like Mango Park, Terminal Market, and Maize Hub have been announced for development. However, in reality, nothing has come up on the said land. During this period, several governments have changed, but the development of the land remains on paper.

MASAMB rescued APMC

The Super APMC owns 73.28 hectares of land in Jadhavwadi. It had taken a loan of Rs 6.23 crores in three instalments from the State Bank of India (SBI) for various development works in the main market area. However, due to its failure to repay the loan on time, the bank filed a claim in the DRT (Debt Recovery Tribunal) court. During this period, the APMC had mortgaged 15.15 hectares of land bearing Gut Numbers 1, 2, 135, and 137, and the court ordered its sale. At that time, the MASAMB stepped in and paid the outstanding loan amount of Rs 14.5 crores in September 2008, thus rescuing the Super APMC. In return, the committee leased 50 acres of land to the board.

Decisions after decisions, but nothing in real

--During the tenure of the late Vilasrao Deshmukh as the Chief Minister in the coalition government, he announced the establishment of a 'Mango Park' on the land of the APMC during the first mango exhibition.

--After that, the coalition government decided to establish a Terminal Market.

--In December 2017, the ruling alliance government decided to set up terminal markets in Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur, excluding Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

--Later, considering the district's maize area, the decision was made to establish a 'Maize Hub,' but that decision also vanished into thin air.

--During the interim period, the Board of Directors of the MASAMB had decided to set up a 'Silo Warehouse.'

Now, land converts into a forest

The board was allotted 50 acres of land on the eastern side of the Super APMC. In the last 17 years, only a compound wall has been constructed on the spot. Today, the area has turned into a mini forest, with thorny bushes and other dense vegetation growing to a height of five to six feet or more.