Check posts screening agri-
products and perishable food items across West Bengal will cease to function from April 1 to facilitate smooth movement of the commodities within the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.
The government has decided to put in effect a policy that will ensure minimum damage to agri-products and perishable food items and ensure that vehicles are not stuck at check posts for hours, she said.
"We have taken a major decision. There will be no barrier for smooth transportation of agri-products. The 109 check posts, run by 22 regulated agri-market committees, will not function from April 1," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat 'Nabanna'.
She said the state will lose Rs 200 crore per year in the wake of the decision "but we have taken the initiative in the interest of farmers and the general public."
"A total of 650 employees, who were involved in manning these check posts, will be re-employed in kisan mandis nearby," the chief minister said.
To a question, Banerjee said, the move was necessitated in the wake of reports that vehicles are getting stuck at check post for hours.
Vehicles transporting agricultural commodities will have to provide a self-declaration about details of the product such as its source, destination and quantity, the chief minister said.
She said the decision to withdraw the check post system, taken at the chief secretary level, will be conveyed to the Agriculture Marketing department and communicated to the block level so that it comes into effect from April 1.
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