By IANS
Lucknow : In a surprise move, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati decided to roll back her new agriculture policy Thursday, 20 days after she had announced it, and ordered closure of Reliance Fresh stores that opened just a day ago.
“A decision to that effect was taken at the state cabinet today (Thursday),” Mayawati said at a hurriedly convened press conference here.
On Aug 3 Mayawati had unveiled the policy that would encourage farmers to sell their produce directly to traders, bypassing middlemen who traditionally dominate village marts. The Uttar Pradesh government had decided to give freedom to the farmer to sell his produce to any trader he wished to and at a price mutually settled between him and the buyer.
The chief minister Thursday also ordered the immediate shutdown of all Reliance Fresh operations launched in the state as a consequence of the 20-day-old policy.
About a dozen Reliance Fresh stores were opened here barely 24 hours ago, amid mild protests by a trader organisation affiliated to the opposition Samajwadi Party. The leaders of the organisation was taken into police custody.
The chief minister attributed the decision to close down Reliance Fresh stores to “law and order problems”.
Referring to the protests, the chief minister said: “I have constituted a high level committee to review the whole affair and until the committee gives a green signal, Reliance Fresh stores will remain shut.”
Asked about other malls like Spencer’ and Big Bazaar that were already operating on the same lines in different parts of Uttar Pradesh, her principal secretary Shailesh Krishna said: “Since these were located inside bigger malls and were selling goods other than just vegetables and fruits, they would remain unaffected.”
Mayawati, who had hailed the Aug 3 policy as a “boon for farmers of the state”, said Thursday: “Earlier I had ordered a survey on the impact of the new farm policy and intelligence reports submitted to me last night revealed that farmers were unhappy with the new policy, so we have decided to withdraw the same with immediate effect.”
Interestingly, on completion of her 100 days in office Wednesday, Mayawati had prominently listed the new farm policy among her “achievements”. She had also described it as a “revolutionary step to save farmers from exploitation by not only middlemen but also from fleecing bankers and corrupt officials”.