Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 19: Minister for Agriculture Production, Javed Ahmad Dar, today said that the consignments of fertilizers are allowed to move to Valley only after the samples test as standard.
The Minister was replying to a question raised by Hilal Akbar Lone in the Legislative Assembly.
He informed the House that there is an established mechanism for sampling of the products batch-wise in respect of Fertilizers at Udhampur Rack, being tested from the Quality Control Lab at Jammu and the consignments are allowed to move to Valley only after the samples test as standard. He said that there is one check point at Lower Munda where the documents of consignments are checked and the source is verified. He added that the sale is allowed only after the samples test as standard.
In addition, the samples are being taken at random from stocks of the wholesalers and retailers, which too are tested and in case the samples test as below standard, prosecution is launched against the wholesalers/ dealers/retailers, he added.
The Minister said that a similar procedure is being adopted in respect of the pesticides for proper testing before its sale to the farmers. He said that the Agriculture Production Department has an Enforcement Directorate at UT level and law enforcement agencies at District level, which are vigilant to any complaints regarding substandard pesticides and fertilizers.
Sharing the details, the Minister said that 3010 and 1065 samples of pesticides and fertilizers respectively have been collected for testing during 2024-25 accordingly.
Bashir Ahmad Veeri raised the supplementary to the question.
Replying to another question of Sajad Shaheen, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, informed the Legislative Assembly that 4,368 houses have been sanctioned under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) since scheme’s inception, out of which, 4,062 houses have been completed with disbursement of all installments.
He stated that there are no impediments in fulfilling the formalities for the deserving beneficiaries under PMAY, as the eligibility criteria has been relaxed, including an increase in the income limit and addition of new facilities. “This has made the scheme more people-friendly.
Moreover, for recognition as a PMAY beneficiary, apart from the ration card, documents like MGNREGA Job Card Number, Mobile Number, Bank Account Number and Aadhaar Card are also being accepted,” asserted the Minister.
He further informed the House that detailed work-wise fund allocations for the past two years under various schemes including MGNREGA, CD Panchayats, PRIs, 14th Finance Commission, SBM, Back to Village, DDC, and BDC grants, have been made in Ramban district. The selection of works has been carried out as per established guidelines and plan formation criteria.
He stated that under these schemes, a total of 36,980 works had been undertaken with Rs 28,967.44 lakh released and Rs 17,642.26 lakh expended, so far.
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