Lower areas miss horticulture revolution

Lalit Mohan

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The lower areas of Himachal, including Kangra, Hamirpur, Una and Bilaspur, have missed the horticulture revolution. 

Reason: The government of Himachal Pradesh has dropped these areas from the HP Horticulture Development Project.

The Rs 1,220-crore HP Horticulture Development Project was sanctioned in 2014. The agreement was signed in October 2016 and it was to be implemented in all 12 districts. The state is divided into three regions — lower, middle and higher hills and the temperate region. However, till date just 9 per cent of the total money has been spent under the project and that too in the apple belt.

As per the project report assessed by The Tribune hybrid varieties of mango, citrus fruits, lichi and guava were to be promoted under the project in the lower and middle hills. The hybrid varieties of fruit trees that give very high yield per hectare were to be imported from Israel and Japan and provided to farmers. At present, farmers taking up horticulture in the lower areas of Himachal grow up to a maximum of 15 plants in one kanal. However, as per the project report, if hybrid varieties are sown, up to 60 plants can be grown in one kanal and it can increase the yield of fruit by about 10 times. In apple-growing areas also, production in Himachal is 6 to 9 metric tonnes per hectare, whereas in New Zealand it was 120 MT per hectare. The project report states that in case new improved hybrid varieties are provided to farmers, it can increase the production of apple in Himachal many times.

Rakesh Pathania, BJP MLA from Nurpur, had taken up the issue of the project not being implemented in the lower areas of Himachal in the state Assembly during the recently concluded monsoon session. Pathania said it was unfortunate that the leaders of the lower Himachal region were not sensitive towards horticulture development. The lower regions of Himachal, including Kangra, Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts were to receive about Rs 800 crore under the HP Horticulture Development Project financed by the World Bank. However, it was unfortunate that these areas have now been dropped, he said.

He said the entire Kangra district has missed the horticulture revolution. As per the horticulture project, clusters of farmers were to be formed in each assembly constituency. These clusters were to create check dams for irrigation in the area and collectively grow orchards on their lands. About 60 per cent component of the total project was to go in the development of irrigation facilities.

The World Bank was to directly fund the farmer clusters for creating irrigation facilities and import hybrid rootstocks of fruit trees they want to grow. About 60 per cent component of the project was to create irrigation facilities, he said.

Pathania said it was not the fault of the government but the elected representatives of lower Himachal, who were responsible for the failure to implement the project in the lower areas.

Pathania said he had created nine clusters of farmers in his constituency, whereas no cluster has been created in any other area of Kangra, Una, Bilaspur and Hamirpur districts. He said it was unfortunate that instead of supporting him for raising his voice for the region, most of the MLAs were mocking him for it during the Assembly session, when he raised the issue. “Some ministers even chided me and asked where was my mango rehri,” he said.

The issue of lower areas being dropped from the horticulture development project has already started gathering political heat. Ajay Mahajan, former Congress MLA from Nurpur, in a press conference this week alleged that the present BJP government was biased against the lower areas of Himachal and major projects were being shifted from Kangra region, he said.