The Punjab government has released Rs250 million to set up the first fully tax-free fruit, vegetable and flower market in Rawalpindi to mitigate the impact of skyrocketing inflation on consumers.
The new modern fruit and vegetable market, to be built near Rawat in Rawalpindi, will have commodities at a discount rate of up to 30 per cent.
A grain market will also be relocated from Faisalabad to Rawat adjacent to the vegetable and fruit market.
District Market Committee Chairman Chaudhary Imtiaz Ahmed told The Express Tribune that Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi has also issued instructions to complete the project at the earliest. He said that a decision to set up the vegetable and grain market near Rawat has been taken keeping in view its proximity to the Rawalpindi Ring Road project.
He said that Rawat is the main entrance point of Rawalpindi from where all seven tehsils of the district can easily be accessed.
He said that there would be no transport and business tax on commodities that will be available in the new market.
“All producers and farmers of Pothohar and Kohsar regions will be able to sell their vegetables and fruit in the new market with great ease,” he said.
“The purpose of setting up the flower market aims to bring down prices of flowers which are used during weddings, funerals and other events,” he said. Imtiaz Ahmed said that the land for the new market will be acquired in the next two to three months.
The market will be built on three acres, he said adding that the market will also have state-of-the-art cold storage.
He said that pulses, rice and wheat etc will also be available at affordable rates with the relocation of the grain market to Rawat.
Water, sewerage and electricity will also be available in the market along with ample parking space, he said adding that Rawalpindi has no vegetable and fruit market and now, for the first time, a model vegetable and fruit market is being set up in the garrison city.
Sources said that the setting up of the model market will facilitate the delivery of vegetables and fruits to all the tehsils of the district. After the completion of the market, all wholesale markets of the city will be shifted out of the city.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2022.
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