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| 4 decades on, Agriculture Deptt awaits reorganization | | Manpower shortage, overburdened staff leaves farmers’ in lurch | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 2: Rechristening of Agriculture Production department to Agriculture Production and Farmer’s Welfare Department (APFWD) has brought into focus the much delayed reorganization and restructuring of the department which has been due for the past four decades now.
As per the latest circular issued by Principal Secretary to Government on 30th of September 2020, the Agriculture Production Department was renamed as Agriculture Production and Farmer’s Welfare Department. However sources in the Agriculture department said that rather than changing the name the government should focus on restructuring as well as reorganization of the department. “The department was reorganized last time in 1980 after which no re-organization or restructuring of the department has taken place despite huge increase in the number of administrative units as well as implementation of new government schemes including centrally sponsored schemes. The available staff strength as well as infrastructure is as per the requirements of 80’s but same has witnessed drastic changes in last four decades”, a senior official said.
Giving details of the staff shortage, official said that Jammu and Kashmir has over 4400 panchayats but half of these panchayats have no Junior Agriculture Extension Officer posted there. “There were total of 2600 JAEO, out of which only 2200 had joined when they were regularized. Out of these 2200, a large number of them have been attached in different offices to run various government schemes, leaving over half of the panchayats without any official of the department”, sources said, adding that in absence of department officials, the farmers have been left to fend for themselves.
The staff strength of Agriculture Department is not proportional to the new administrative revenue units created by the government. “The Nowshera sub division of Agriculture Department caters two revenue divisions including Nowshera as well as Sunderbani. Moreover the Akhnoor sub division of Agriculture Department has three revenue divisions under its watch. Similar situations prevail in most of the divisions of the Union Territory, whereas in case of other field staff including storekeepers, Class IV employees, junior assistants beside others have not been sufficiently available as new recruitment has not been done in past many years,” sources said, adding that infrastructure of the department was also as per requirements of 80s, which needed to be upgraded.
The delay in the restructuring and re-organization of the department has deprived the farmers’ community of the benefits the department could provide to them in the form of facilitating various farmers’ welfare initiatives, sources said, adding that along with the change of nomenclature of the department the much delayed demand of restructuring and reorganization should be met without any further delay in view of farmers’ welfare. |
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