HYDERABAD: The Agricultural Marketing Department is contemplating using force to evict Self-Help Group members from the stalls they are running in rythu bazaars as they failed to renew their licences even after issuance of four notices.
Asserting this policy , CEO of rythu bazaars, S Pradyumna said, “We are going to throw them out with police force in 10 days, as they have not followed government orders. They have not renewed their licences even once for the past 10 years.” The department had issued eviction notices four times to SHG stall holders. But no dealer has yet vacated the stall, he said.
A report had been sent to the government giving a complete picture of the current situation in the bazaars and permission had been sought to evict defaulters. “We will get the green signal in 10 days and throw all of them out. They are in the stalls since 1999, when the first rythu bazaars were set up,” he said. The government would issue new licences to others.
There are 106 rythu bazaars across the state with a total of about 750 SHG stalls. Each stall has been given to an SHG group comprising five to seven members. The SHGs are under Development of Women and Child in Rural Areas, Chief Minister’s Empowerment of Youth and Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana.
According to Pradyumna, the majority of stalls in rythu bazaars are being occupied by middlemen in the garb of SHGs. Only 25 percent was being allotted to individual farmers as against the norm of 75 percent of space for them and the rest being for SHGs. “After sending these defaulters out, the government will allot stalls to members of new SHGs,” he said.
The dealers have their own reasons for not vacating the stalls. KL Swamy, an SHG member and stall dealer at Erragadda rythu bazaar countered that, he would approach the court because he had been running the stall for the last 10 years. “It is very difficult to vacate now as I will not get any shop outside and it is the only source of income.” Many dealers are ready to vacate stalls if government uses brute force.
K Komaraiah, a farmer from Nagireddygudem village in Rangareddy said, “Small farmers and vegetable sellers do not have stalls in rythu bazaars. They are forced to squat in front of the bazaar due to lack of space inside.” He is hopeful that he would get a stall at Mehdipatnam rythu bazaar if the government finally evicts SHG defaulters.