Govt plans wholesale fruit, vegetable market in Tikri; move to decongest Azadpur Mandi

The Delhi Government has planned a wholesale market for fruits and vegetables with modern amenities on a 70-acre land in northwest Delhi’s Tikri Khampur under a public-private partnership mode, officials said on Wednesday.

Once operational, it will help decongest Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable market at Azadpur. Officials said the Delhi Agricultural Marketing Board (DAMB) has started the process to engage a consultant for the project.

The consultant hired by the DAMB will provide comprehensive services related to conceptualisation of the project, focusing on market analysis, space demand, trade pattern, financial aspects, revenue generation and investment vis-à-vis returns, said a tender document.

The model of the project will be such that no financial liability is imposed upon the Delhi Government or DAMB, and the entire scheme is executed on a public-private partnership mode, it said.

The DAMB is entrusted with the regulation of the marketing of agricultural produce and the establishment of markets of agricultural produce in the national Capital territory and other related matters.

The Azadpur fruit and vegetable market operated by the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) is located on 76 acres of land in northwest Delhi.

The trade activity in Azadpur Mandi has grown multifold with the passage of time and the increase in population. As a result of heavy footfall and an influx of a large number of goods vehicles bringing fruits and vegetables from various northern States, the market has become heavily congested.

To deal with the situation and to provide better marketing infrastructure with modern technology, the DAMB has acquired about 70.62 acres of land at Tikri Khampur on GT Karnal Road for the proposed wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

Development of the wholesale market was a long-pending project of the Delhi Government, delayed by many years. The project has been revived with the new Government in Delhi, moving to engage a consultant cum adviser so that the facility could finally take off, officials added.