Tripura committed to developing rural market infrastructure to enhance agri-trading

The Tripura government is committed to the development of primary rural markets and agriculturally controlled markets to boost farmers' income through various plans based on specific proposals, Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said on December 17.

He made the statement after inaugurating rural markets under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) project in Kanchanbari and Radhanagar of Unakoti district and opening them to farmers and traders.

He said, “The state government's Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has been adopting various plans based on specific proposals for the development of primary rural markets and agriculturally controlled markets. In recent years, the department has been implementing projects based on the specific proposals received from the three-tier Panchayati Raj institutions, market committees, or any public representatives, considering their importance and necessity while adopting plans for the development of various markets."

The minister added that any market development proposal must include a detailed description of the proposed land and necessary documents.

“There are currently a total of 554 agricultural markets in the state, including 84 primary wholesale markets, 21 agri-produce markets, and 470 primary or rural markets. The Department of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare has been adopting various plans for the development of these agricultural markets located in different parts of the state,” he said.

He further added said that from 2018 till now, a total of 86 market works have been undertaken with the financial assistance of NABARD under the RIDF project.

“Various types of infrastructure development works, such as shed construction, stall construction, toilet construction, drinking water supply, sewage systems, etc., have been undertaken in these markets. The total cost allocated for this is Rs. 167 crore, 11 lakh, 90 thousand. A total of 40 market development works have already been completed, 38 are in progress, work orders have been issued for 3, and 5 have been cancelled due to a lack of suitable bidders and space availability. It is worth mentioning that during the 5-year period from 2013 to 2017, a total of 71 market infrastructure development works were undertaken, with an allocated cost of only Rs. 20 crore, 26 lakh, 86 thousand, 924,” he added.