Chandigarh, 1 February 2025: With the Rural Development Fund (RDF) withheld, the Punjab Mandi Board has started auctioning its unutilized properties to generate revenue.
Around 12,000 properties, including fuel station sites, ATM sites, and built-up shops in mandis across the state, are currently up for auction.
The revenue generated is being used for rural infrastructure development and repaying old loans taken by previous governments. The board began the auction process last month and has so far raised ₹60 crore.
By the end of the financial year, it aims to collect ₹250 crore through these auctions.
The decision to auction properties was made last year after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann approved the plan to address the financial crisis caused by the Centre withholding ₹7,200 crore in RDF dues.
Once a cash-rich entity, the board has struggled in 2023 and 2024 to repay loans taken by the previous Congress government for the farm debt waiver scheme.
With no immediate resolution to the RDF issue, the board has prioritized using auction proceeds for repairing and maintaining rural infrastructure, particularly long-neglected link roads.
It has also taken steps to ensure regular income, including renovating Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh and Kisan Haveli in Anandpur Sahib while marginally increasing room tariffs.
“We are working towards financial stability. Leasing out commercial sites is our next step,” Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Harchand Singh Barsat said.
“Most of the previous governments’ loans have been cleared, and only ₹500 crore remains, which will be paid off soon.”
On Thursday, the board leased out 16 fuel station sites, securing an annual lease amount of ₹7.01 crore. It has identified 108 such sites for leasing over a 19-year and 11-month period, with 30 more sites expected to be leased by March.
These sites have remained unauctioned since 2018.
