CPI(M) wants big retail out of cities

The party will also insist on a cap on the number of outlets.

Alarmed by their rapid growth, the CPI(M) plans to ask the government to locate organised retailers out of city limits to protect small shopkeepers and traders.

The party will also insist on a cap on the number of such outlets to check organised retail's growth at the expense of small retailers.

According to a blueprint being finalised by the CPI(M) to regulate organised retail, the state must play a role in the procurement of farm produce to protect farmers' interests. The party wants that companies must enter into contracts with a group of farmers and not with individuals.

Opposing FDI in the retail sector earlier, Central Committee of the CPI(M) had taken note of the "danger" posed by the "largescale" entry of organised retailers.

The CPI(M) has, therefore, decided to pressure the UPA regime to put in place curbs on organised retail trade. To this end, it is in the process of preparing a note, which will be submitted to the government shortly.

The party studied different examples like South-East Asia (where organised retailers have been kept out of city limits) and West Europe, where attempts are being made to bring them inside city limits.

"In Europe, say France, organised sector has around 80 per cent share of retail trade. This is 20 per cent in South-East Asia and a mere 3 per cent in India. We must, therefore, follow the South-East Asian model of keeping organised retail out of city limits. Given the fact that India has the largest number of shopkeepers per unit area, we have to work out ways to protect the interest of small retailers," said a source in the party.

The rate of growth of organised retail had been much faster in the recent times and it had happened at the cost of unorganised retail, he added.

"But once the growth of consumer market stagnates and shrinks subsequently, the same phenomenon will prove to be catastrophic in terms of displacement. The pace of growth of the organised sector has to be checked," he said.