NWFP Assembly passes bill to set up agriculture and livestock markets

The provincial legislature of NWFP on Friday unanimously adopted Agriculture and Livestock Produce Market Bill, 2007 to pave way for establishment of agricultural and livestock markets and market committees for marketing of agriculture and livestock produced in the province.
The bill tabled by NWFP Minister for Agriculture & Livestock, Qari Mahmood, the provincial government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare its intention of exercising control over the purchase and sale of such agricultural or livestock produce or both and in such area as may be specified in the notification and shall invite objections and suggestions from stakeholders.
The objections and suggestions, which may be received by the District Coordination Officer (DCO), through District Officer Agriculture (Extension), within a period to be specified in the notification. Such objections and suggestions would be given importance in decision-making.
After the specified period of 30 days and considering of objections and suggestions received before the expiry of the specified period, the government in any way declare the area notified under Section 3 of the Act or any other portion thereof to be a notified market area for the purpose of the Act and specify the agricultural produce or the livestock produce or both over which control is to be exercised in that area.
Similarly, the government may, at any time by notification, declare its intention to exclude any area, which has already been declared as a notified market area, and also to include or re-include any area and in doing so the procedure laid down in the act.
Under the law the provincial government would be allowed to establish market committees and agriculture produce market and no person for himself or on behalf of another person unless exempted by the rules made under this act, shall, within the notified market area, set-up, establish or use any place for the purchase and sale of the agriculture produce or livestock produce or purchase, sell, store or process such agricultural produce or livestock produce as the case may be, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a license granted under the provision of the new Act.
The growers, who either himself or through a bona fide agent sell their own agricultural produce or the produce of his tenants or, as the case be, livestock produce, or by a person who purchases any agricultural produce or livestock produce for his private or domestic use would be exempted from the requirement of the license.
The market committee shall be consisted of ten or seventeen members and would be constituted by the government. In case of ten member- committee one member shall be appointed from amongst the employees of government in the field of agriculture (Extension), five members from growers of the notified area, two members appointed amongst the license holders, one from brokers, one from consumers.
In case of seventeen members, one would represent the department, nine amongst growers, five license holders, one from weighmen, brokers or Palladars and one representative of consumers.
Senior parliamentarian and parliamentary leader of PPP-Parliamentarians, Abdul Akbar Khan congratulated the minister concerned for bringing and getting passed an important bill in the House.
Earlier, the provincial assembly approved the remaining 40 demands for grant over Rs 9.020 billion to meet the excessive expenditures to be borne by the different departments till June 30, 2007. The opposition lawmakers, who withdrew their cut motions on the additional spending by the government, criticised the works and services department for its poor performance.
It had become a routine practice of the government to make huge expenditures and later got them approved from the House. They said they had presented cut motions on Wednesday on the expenditures made by several departments, but the government had bulldozed all of them through majority vote. They stressed transparency in the financial matters of the government.