Congress resolves to make Himachal the fruit state: Jagat Singh Negi
Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that the state government is determined to establish Himachal as the fruit state of the country.
Participating in a dialogue session organized with the teacher Mr. Negi inaugurating the sample processing block built at a cost of Rs 50 lakh in the Advanced Soil and Leaf Analysis Laboratory at Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni today l.
Jagat Singh Negi said that to make Himachal the fruit state of the country, the scientists of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni will have to work in a direction-wise manner.
He said that the scientists of this university would have to prepare different varieties of fruits according to the diverse climate of Himachal Pradesh.
He said that the state government will provide appropriate support to the university in this direction.
He said that the state government would spend about Rs 1300 crore under the Himachal Pradesh Shiva Project in the state in five years.
He said that under this scheme, horticulture sector will be developed in two phases in an area of six thousand hectares land to be brought in 28 development blocks of 07 districts of the state.
More than 15 thousand gardening families will benefit from this. He said that under the project, fruits like orange, guava, pomegranate, litchi, plum, pecan nut, persimmon, mango etc. will be promoted on the private lands of farmers under ‘one crop one cluster’ method.
Jagat Singh Negi called upon the scientists of the university to develop the tissue culture method as per the needs of the state so that the gardeners can benefit from it.
The Horticulture Minister said that fruit cultivation is currently being promoted in other states of the country also. We have to ensure that we make proper use of the diverse climatic conditions of Himachal and make Himachal a fruit state.
He assured that various problems of the university would be resolved soon.
Earlier, Jagat Singh Negi planted a sapling of Terminalia metallica in the administrative premises of Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni.
He also inspected the apple and other fruits nursery PEQ site, gene bank of various fruits, research laboratory, fiber culture laboratory, electron microscope laboratory, incubation center built in the forestry department in the university.
He said that agriculture, horticulture and flower farming are the main sources of income for the villagers of the state. He said that efforts will be made to establish Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar Horticulture and Forestry University, Nauni.
He also checked the food arrangements in the hostels.
Dr. Yashwant Singh Parwar, Vice Chancellor of Horticulture and Forestry University, Prof. Rajeshwar Singh Chandel welcomed Jagat Singh Negi and presented a detailed account of the work of the university.
