Border area road connectivity & questions pertaining to Jal Shakti raised in J&K Assembly
Jammu, March 4 (IANS) Replying a question raised by MLA, Mir Saifullah during the question hour in J&K Assembly on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister, Surinder Choudhary said that the construction of tunnel on the road connecting Keran and Jumgund area of Kupwara district for providing all weather connectivity will be taken up with the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Choudhary said the DPR for the same would be prepared and forwarded to the Union government.
“Keran sector of Kupwara district is connected with the rest of J&K via Pharkiyan Gali to Keran road (46.76 Km) maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
“This road remains partially closed during the winter due to snow accumulation and regular snow clearance is being done by BRO for providing connectivity to Keran sector. The PMGSY Road Zirhama-Jumgund (length 25.00 km) is a high-altitude road. Snow clearance operations are carried out regularly, but during heavy snow spells, the clearance operation becomes difficult beyond the first six km and gets temporarily delayed till weather improves due to poor visibility, frost, avalanches/snowslides from upper reaches, especially in the kilometres from 17th to 20th. No alternate roads are available at present for the Keran and Jumgund areas,” he said.
In reply to another question by MLA, Justice (Retd) Hasnain Masoodi, Minister for Agricultural Production, Javed Ahmad Dar said that 2,548.75 hectares of saffron land have been rejuvenated under the national mission on saffron.
The minister said that the National Mission on Saffron has made significant advancements, particularly strengthening of the irrigation system, rejuvenating 2,548.75 hectares of saffron land.
The minister said that the government has successfully halted decline in saffron area and area under this crop has remained at 3,715 hectares (3665 Ha in Kashmir division and 50 Ha in Kishtwar) since 2010-11, with more areas identified for expansion supported by HADP.
He added that the productivity has increased from 2.50 kg/ha in 2009-10 to a maximum recorded productivity of 4.42 kg/ha in the rejuvenated areas during 2023.
He said that the National Saffron Mission initiated a plan to construct a network of 124 community bore wells. Each bore-well is intended to serve an area of 30 hectares, connected to sprinkler irrigation systems designed to support the irrigation needs of a total of 3,665 hectares of saffron fields.
“85 bore wells have been handed over to the Agriculture Department, however, efforts to construct the remaining 39 bore wells have faced significant obstacles. Despite multiple invitations for tenders, there has been consistently poor participation in the tendering process. This lack of response has resulted in a substantial delay in further developing the necessary irrigation infrastructure. Committee formed by the Government has found that 77 bore wells are not functional for a long time. Rs 400 Crore project had been sanctioned during 2010-11 by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation for boosting Saffron production and economic revival,” he said.
He added that the establishment of Saffron Park/IIKSTC has helped farmers realize enhanced prices, increasing from Rs. 80,000 per kg to Rs. 2,20,000 per kg during 2021-22. Implementation of various scientific post-harvest processing methods increased saffron stigma recovery from 22g/kg to 28g/kg (an increase of 6g/kg) during 2021-22.
“Through the mission, new technologies were implemented via Indian Institute of Kashmir Saffron and Technology Center (IIKSTC), leading to an increase in saffron colour quality from 8 per cent (traditional drying) to 16 percent (scientific drying). The Mission addressed the issue of intermediaries exploiting saffron growers by implementing e-auctions at IIKSTC. This ensured fair farm-gate prices and enabled transparent transactions across India, effectively reducing the influence of intermediaries. The Agriculture Department has made concerted efforts to combat disruptive activities of undesirable elements among the saffron growing farmers, which included damaging of sprinkler irrigation systems/bore wells. The presence of Real-Estate players/land grabbers poses a significant threat to the success of saffron cultivation, in the area, complaints have also been lodged with the concerned revenue officials,” he said.
“While monitoring and evaluating the activities carried out under the Saffron Mission, it is clearly suggestive that the majority of the objectives and outcomes have been achieved under the Mission, however, a couple of objectives have remained incomplete due to various factors. The Department has consistently involved local leadership and saffron growers in policy decisions to benefit farmers. Committees comprising saffron farmers, traders, civil society members, and other stakeholders have been formed to ensure their views are considered,” the minister said.
In reply to a question raised by Nizamuddin Bhat, MLA, Jal Shakti minister, Javed Ahmad Rana today informed the house that an amount of Rs 132 crore has been expanded for augmentation of drinking water supply schemes under JJM/ UT Capex/ AMRUT 2.0 in Bandipora constituency.
The Minister said that DPR for the water supply scheme, Bandipora Town project to be undertaken under AMRUT 2.0 is being surveyed and framed.
”Providing portable drinking water to every household is a project of national importance launched by the Prime Minister in 2019 under Jal Jeevan Mission for the rural areas and same has been launched under AMRUT-2.0 for the Urban areas in Jammu & Kashmir,” the minister said.
–IANS
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