APMC yard set for makeover

MANGALORE: Mangalore Agricultural Marketing Produce Committee (APMC) on Thursday flagged off a move to improve basic infrastructure at its Bykampady yard near here under the development of marketing infrastructure (DMI) scheme. Under this scheme, the main and side roads leading to the yard and godown will be concreted at an estimated cost of Rs 12.15 crore and street lights provided along the length of these roads.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) finances the DMI scheme where the participating APMCs is given 25 per cent of the total project cost as subsidy. The APMC has to bear the remaining 75 per cent of the project cost and it has already spent around Rs 4 crore on implementing part of the project. The APMC also has tied up with Indian Overseas Bank to fund the remaining part of its project share.
K Krishnaraj Hegde, president, APMC, who will lay down office after a five-year tenure as head of the committee on Sunday told reporters here on Thursday that the state government has accorded permission to APMC to raise funds from bank to raise its share of the project. IOB is giving us loan at nine percent rate of interest," he said. Paper work for sanctioning rest of the amount is ready, but we are yet to avail it, he added.
The 18-member APMC was facing a dilemma in raising this amount, as we did not want to end out tenure leaving the committee facing a debt, Hegde noted. However, since we had received necessary approvals for the government and the state was keen on availing the grants given by NABARD under DMI scheme, the APMC went ahead with implementing the project to develop infrastructure at the yard, Hegde added.