By the Court - (1.) Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner, learned Standing Counsel and Shri B.D. Madhyan for the respondents.
(2.) The relevant provisions for the purposes of this writ petition are Sections 2(a), 2(t), 4-A, 6, 8 and Section 17(iii)(b) of the U.P. Krishi Utpadan Mandi Adhiniyam, 1964 (in short referred to as the Act).
(3.) For the reference of these provisions including relevant part of Section 17(iii)(b) of the Act are reproduced below : "2. (a) "agricultural produce" means such items of produce of agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, apiculture, sericulture, pisciculture, animal husbandry, or forest as are specified in the Schedule, and includes admixture of two or more of such items, and also includes any such item in processed form, and further includes gur, rab, shakkar, khandsari and jaggery; (t) "specified agricultural produce" means agricultural produce, specified in the notification under Section 6 or as modified under Section 8; 4-A. Power to amend Schedule.-The State Government may, by notification in the Gazette, add to, amend or omit any of the items of agricultural produce specified in the Schedule, and thereupon the Schedule shall stand amended accordingly. 6. Declaration of Market Area.-On the expiry of the period referred to In Section 5, the State Government shall consider the objections received within the said period and may thereupon declare, by notification in the Gazette, and in such other manner as may be prescribed, that the whole or any specified portion of the area mentioned in the notification under Section 5 shall be the Market Area in respect of such agricultural produce, and with effect from such date as may be specified in the declaration. 8. Alteration of Market Area and modification of the list of Agricultural Produce.-(1) The State Government, where it considers necessary or expedient in the public interest so to do, may; by notification in the Gazette, and in such other manner as may be prescribed and with effect from the date specified in the notification, (a) include any agricultural produce in, or exclude any agricultural produce from, the list of agricultural produce specified in the notification under Section 6; (b) include any area in, or exclude any area from, the Market Area specified in the notification under Section 6; (c) divide a Market Area specified in the notification under Section 6 into two or more separate Market Areas; (d) amalgamate two or more Market Areas specified in the notification under Section 6 into one Market Area; or (e) declare that a Market Area specified in the notification under Section 6 shall cease to be such area : Provided that before action under this sub-section is taken, the State Government shall invite and consider, in the prescribed manner, objections, if any, against the proposed action. 17. Powers of the Committees. - A Committee shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the power to (iii) levy and collect, (a) such fees as may be prescribed for the issue or renewal of licences; and (b) market fee which shall be payable on transaction of sale of specified agricultural produce in the market area at such rates, being not less than one percentum and not more than two and a half percentum of the price of the agricultural produce so sold as the State Government may specify by notification, and development cess which shall be payable on such transactions of sale at the rate of half percentum of the price of the agricultural produce so sold and such fee or development cess shall be realised in the following manner :";