Pune, 11 July 2025: The Maharashtra government has decided to cancel all tenders approved solely through resolutions passed by the board of the Pune Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Marketing Minister Jaykumar Rawal announced in the Legislative Council on Thursday. He further stated that a high-level committee would be constituted to conduct a thorough investigation within two months, and strict action would be taken against those found guilty.
The statement came in response to sharp allegations made by former minister and MLA Sadabhau Khot regarding large-scale irregularities within the Pune APMC. Raising the issue during the Council session, Khot claimed that licenses in the flower market were granted bypassing the waiting list, even while an ongoing inquiry into similar matters was underway. He also alleged that 56 additional licenses had recently been issued under questionable circumstances and that the Director of Marketing was avoiding any formal investigation.
Khot pointed out several other irregularities, including the operation of a petrol pump without a proper tender, and an expenditure of ₹53 lakh for land measurement in Perne village of Haveli Taluka, despite the APMC not having official possession of the land. He also flagged unauthorized allotment of stalls in the grain and fruit markets and alleged that construction work was undertaken at the Manjari sub-market without permission from the Director of Marketing.
While various committees have been formed in the past to investigate such allegations, very few have completed their inquiries, and their findings have never been made public. This has led to widespread skepticism among stakeholders in the market yard, who now question whether the newly announced high-level committee will actually deliver results.
In response, Minister Rawal said that action would be initiated against illegal stalls established during the tenure of the current board. He assured that the process to remove all such unauthorized structures was already underway. He further declared that all matters related to tenders not processed through the e-tendering system would be scrapped and subjected to detailed scrutiny. The high-level committee's report will be the basis for punitive measures.
Rawal also emphasized that while certain wrongdoings had occurred, it would be unfair to malign the entire market system. He pointed out that the Pune APMC has a broad and complex structure, where errors may happen, but systematic corruption must be curbed. He added that a previous inquiry ordered by a former Marketing Minister had been stayed by the High Court, preventing any further action on that front.
