Budget Announcements vs Reality
Ajay Raina
JAMMU: The successive Governments in Jammu and Kashmir talked much about revamping the livestock sector with the sole objective of checking annual capital flight of Rs 3500 crore on import of dairy and poultry products. Even the PDP-BJP Coalition Government, which ruled the State till early this month, made lofty slogan in this regard during the last Budget Session.
However, this is going to remain a vision only as the document prepared by the then Minister for Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department Sajad Gani Lone has not spelt out short term measures and only focused on long term steps for making Jammu and Kashmir self-sufficient in poultry, meat and milk production by 2025.
Lone, while getting grants of departments under his charge passed in the Assembly during last Budget Session, had announced that Government would revamp the livestock sector in such a way that Jammu and Kashmir would meet its annual requirement of poultry and dairy products.
Though he initiated step in this direction by himself preparing a Vision Document, the State will have to face the annual burden of Rs 3500 crore for another 10 years as the then Minister while submitting this document to the Union Government for financial assistance in the month of December last year had stated that roadmap prepared by him would completely revamp the livestock sector by 2025.
From his statement it can easily be gauged that no short-term measures have been finalized by the Department of Animal and Sheep Husbandry to increase production of dairy and poultry products in Jammu and Kashmir and drive this sector from most unorganized to organized position. The lack of seriousness on this aspect can be further gauged from the fact that majority of the officers of this department are not aware of even the broad contours of the Vision Document.
“All we know is that a Vision Document has been prepared and submitted to the Union Government”, an officer of the department told EXCELSIOR on the condition of anonymity while expressing ignorance about the steps mentioned in the document for revamping of the sector.
Moreover, the then Minister had stated that awareness would be generated about this document among all the stakeholders but what sort of information would be spread by the department without even having knowledge about the policy remains a million dollar question.
In this way, the State will have to bear the burden of Rs 3500 crore annually for another 10 years. Moreover, there are apprehensions about implementation of Vision Document even during the period mentioned by the then Minister as the same entirely depends upon the financial assistance to be provided by the Union Government.
It is pertinent to mention here that revamping of livestock sector requires financial assistance of Rs 2031 crore from the Union Government as the State doesn’t have the resources to meet this expenditure from its own exchequer.
Due to this, generation of employment for 30,000 to 40,000 unemployed youth, which was linked with the revamping of livestock sector by the then Minister, would also remain a distant dream.
The lack of required focus on this vital sector is notwithstanding the fact that Jammu and Kashmir has huge potential for increasing production of dairy and poultry products because of its climatic conditions. There are huge pastures for sheep farming but this huge potential has largely remained untapped till date because of non-serious approach from the successive Governments.
What to talk of revamping the sector, the then Minister also failed to implement announcement with regard to reorganization and restructuring of the department.
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