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| Proposal to reorganise Horticulture Deptt put in cold storage? | | Govt claims on floor of Assembly prove false | | KUNAL SHRIVATSA
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, May 24: Notwithstanding its enthusiasm and keenness on carving a niche for Horticulture products of J&K in the international market, the government, it seems, has shelved its ambitious proposal of expanding/reorganizing the Department, the only alternative which can rejuvenate the latter and make things result oriented.
It was during J&K Assembly Session 2009, the J&K Horticulture Department gave an assurance on the floor of the House regarding expansion/reorganization of Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department in reply to an un-starred query raised by MLA Doda Abdul Majid Wani.
"The Department accepted the plea put forth by the MLA and accordingly came up with a concrete proposal." said the sources
"Even Director Horticulture Planning & Marketing M S Qasba, justified the need for reorganization of the Department, vide his communication No 4617, dated 24/11/2009 followed by detailed justification vide No 5232, dated 25/01/2010 by submitting proposal to the government." The official sources added
The sources further revealed that the proposal for reorganization of the Horticulture Planning & Marketing Department was submitted in view of acute shortage of staff in field because there has been no cadre review and expansion of the Department since its inception in seventies.
"There is urgent requirement of strengthening the existing staff for enforcement of Agriculture Produce Marketing Regulation (APMR) Act 1997 on ground levels." A senior official maintained adding that implementation of marketing reforms in true sprit; collection of license and market fees from the fruit traders in the chain of regulated Fruit and Vegetable (F&V) Markets are some of the other aspects which need to be seriously looked into for the better management of the department.
APMR Act has been enforced in our state and presently eleven APMCs (Terminal & Satellite F&V Markets) like APMC Narwal, Parimpora, Sopore, Kulgam, Pulwama, Shopian etc are functional. The process for collecting license and market fees has been taken into hand and it is expected that in case adequate manpower is provided to these APMCs, the revenue generation from these new institutions under the jurisdiction of the Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department shall reach to the extent that these APMCs can not only meet the salaries of the proposed manpower, but can also contribute a lot to the state economy and development of these markets as well as the department.
Apart from that ensuring the interest of fruit/vegetable growers of the state by bringing to an end the malpractices by the fruit/vegetable traders in these markets and strengthening network of regulated Fruit and Vegetable markets in the state in order to create a facility for the growers for marketing of their produce at the door step are also needed to make the working of the department more efficient.
According to sources the most important point which is hampering the smooth working of the department is promotions of the employees, which are astonishingly long over due.
"Most of the employees of Department of Horticulture (Production & Marketing) are facing stigma of working on same one post for 15 to 25 years without any promotion due to stagnation in the department." said sources
Despite the fact that the Horticulture sector plays a vital role in the state economy and at present have annual turnover of more than Rs 3000 crore plus the foreign exchange of Rs 160 crores on account of export of walnuts in shells and Kernels, the lack of promotions of the employees is nothing but a gross 'injustice' meted out to them.
Needless to mention that Jammu and Kashmir is enriched with a variety of fruits and vegetables including apples, almonds and walnuts which are famous for their fine quality and taste not only in the country but abroad as well.
Due to the uniqueness of local produce of fruits and vegetables and their higher demand in other parts of the country, there is undoubtedly a vast potential in the horticulture sector to boost the otherwise sagging economy of the state.
But the lackadaisical approach of the government in running the affairs of the Horticulture Planning and Marketing Department is not giving the much desired results.
Department is more than imperative.
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