Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Inspite of having dense forests,huge water resources and best Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), three districts of Chenab valley viz Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar continue to be most backward areas of J&K state. As for as Doda district of Chenab valley is considered, this hill district is spread over an area of 11,691 sq. kms with 92 percent rural population and is located around 165 kms from Jammu and 235 kms from Srinagar. River Chenab flows through this district, and that is the reason this district is an important part of Chenab valley. Before 2006, Doda used to be the district headquarters of Ramban and Kishtwar districts as well.
Location
Inspite of the fact that Kishtwar and Ramban were carved out of Doda 12 years back, Doda district continues to be the largest districts in the Jammu division. More than 40 percent people in Chenab valley speak Kashmiri. Other languages spoken in this region are Sarazi, Dogri, Gojri, Baderwahi and Western Pahadi. During my recent visit to Chenab valley recently, I met several stakeholders including the young and energetic Deputy Commissioner of Doda Dr Difode Sagar an IAS officer from Maharashtra. I had meetings with district officers of Horticulture, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Entrepreneur Development Institute (EDI), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) etc. In addition I met a large number of local businessmen , farmers and other concerned persons. As per various studies conducted at state and national level Doda is economically very backward than Budgam inspite of the fact that this district has higher literacy rate (around 63 percent) than Budgam which has literacy rate of only 58 percent. Same is the case with other districts of Chenab valley i.e. Ramban and Kishtwar.
Untapped potential
It is important that authorities at the helm of affairs hold consultations, capacity building programs round tables with local political, social and religious leaders so that Government officials as well as the community is sensitised about the potential in Chenab valley. Unfortunately people of Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar are themselves not aware of the fact how rich their region is ? During my visit found that local political, religious and social leaders are not well aware about the natural capital in this area.They are unaware about the strength Chenab region has in different sectors especially tourism, agriculture and horticulture. There is an urgent need to sensitise the community leaders so that they create a pressure on the Government for better planning and development of the potential sectors in this region. This part of development of human capital is very weak in the district. Development NGOs are not at all visible in whole Chenab region. The SHGs associated with State Rural Livelihood Mission (SRLM) need to be taken on exposure visits.Agri and Tourism based vocational courses need to be started in Hr Secondary schools of the district under National School Qualification Framework (NSQF) programme run under project RAMSA.
Building Institutional Capability
It is observed that institutional framework is the key stone of the strategy for making Chenab region economically viable. For achieving this Government organisations working in different development sectors like Rural Development, Agriculture, Horticulture etc need constant handholding. Sher e Kashmir Agriculture University (SKUAST) Kashmir needs to have collaborative programme with SKUAST Jammu in view of the local demands in Agriculture and horticulture sector. To handhold the Govt organisations in the district, it is very important to involve prominent NGOs , research institutes working in agri and allied sectors. Local youth need to be made part of this project.
For proper market linkages the district administrations of Ramban , Doda and Kishtwar and authorities at state level need to bring in policy guaranteeing Minimum Support Price (MSP) of the local produce like olive , Rajma , walnuts , apple, corn etc. Furthermore the farmers need to be institutionalised into Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and cooperatives which are not seen at all across Chenab valley.
Road Connectivity and Irrigation facility
Chenab region is only connected to the rest of India through NH44 which due to frequent landslides and shooting stones remains blocked thus losing contact with other states. The condition of highway needs to be strengthened along with Doda -Kishtwar- Simthan road. Inspite of having huge water resources , most of the villages in Chenab belt are rain-fed and lack irrigation facilities. Several lift irrigation projects have to be taken up on priority. Directorate of Command Area Development Jammu has to play a key role in this direction.
Tourism Development
Tourism can boost economy of Chenab valley. Inspite of having huge tourism potential handful of tourists visit Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar. Leading Tourism players and travel agents of national and international repute need to be invited to Baderwah, Doda, Kishtwar , Batote and other areas so that they see the potential tourism sector especially the adventure tourism like Para Gliding , Water Rafting , High Altitude hiking, trekking and village home stays. Pilgrimage tourism also has the best potential in this district as there are several ancient temples located in this region.
NTFP and Apiculture
Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) like guchis, mushrooms and other medicinal plants are found in great abundance in Chenab valley but they are not properly marketed. Its production, sale and marketing needs to be taken up by a collaborative method involving state Forest department and J&K Medicinal Plants Board. Ministry of Ayush Govt of India had agreed to provide some two hundred crores for setting up a research center in Baderwah last year, that project needs to be clubbed with NTFP activities in Chenab valley.
The region has best quality of wild honey, but on commercial basis apiculture is yet to be developed in the district. The olive (zaitoon) farming which was taken up more than 30 years back in Doda ,Ramban and Kishtwar has not been expanded even to three or four dozen villages inspite of the fact that wild olive trees called Kuh are found in abundance in Chenab valley. The olive grafts can be inserted in these wild trees and that has worked with 80 to 90 percent success rate in past.
Conclusion
There are many more agri based activities which have a huge potential in Doda like high density apple cultivation , walnut cultivation , dairy farming , backyard poultry farming etc. Only thing needed is will power and local demand from people. That can only be achieved by exploiting local human and natural capital. The leaders from Chenab valley need to impress upon villagers to see world beyond NREGA jobs. Corruption in Government offices is rampant and there is no accountability at all and that is also the reason funds meant for local development are not spend on the ground. A massive social audit needs to be undertaken in all the three districts especially to see how funds meant for rural development and other schemes in agriculture, horticulture, water , sanitation, roads have been spend. Govt officials involved in embezzlement of public money need to be taken to task. Newly elected Member of Parliament and Minister of State in Prime Minister’s office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh who is son of the soil and represents the area can play a great role in exploiting natural capital of Chenab region.
(The author is Founder and Chairman of JK RTI Movement)
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