Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis goes shopping, buys veggies for Rs 200

Mumbai: Clutching a bag, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was seen haggling with the greengrocer on Monday morning. In the end he bought tomatoes, cucumber, methi and a few other vegetables -- all for Rs 200.

The "market" was at the forecourt of the Vidhan Bhavan. It was the "Sant Shiromani Shri Savta Mali Athavda Bazar" that the Chief Minister had inaugurated in the morning.

The weekly-market is a government initiative which would enable farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers, leaving out the middlemen.

"Here, the consumers will get farm fresh vegetables weighed on electronic scales and priced at reasonable rates. The farmers will get the right to fix the price of their produce and get an authorised outlet to sell their produce," Mr Fadnavis said.

The products sold will be fresh -- raw, semi-ripe, rotten, broken or over-ripe agriculture produce will not be allowed.

Weekly markets, he said, are a typical fixture in rural Maharashtra.

At present, there are 27 such outlets in Pune, 3 in Nagpur and one at Thane. But the government plans to set them up across the state.

These bazars will be organised on a fixed day of a week to sell vegetables and fruits produced in Maharashtra. The farmers will get training from the officials of the Cooperation and Marketing departments.

In a statement, the government said the expenses incurred on facilities like booking amount for the site, furniture, drinking water, light, waste disposal, parking and security shall be borne jointly by the farmers, farmers' groups and farmers' companies. The selection of the sponsor shall be done by the marketing board.