Transfer of land for tourism village set to hit four farm projects
CSK Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University here will have to discontinue a few major projects related to farm and animal activities as the area under these projects is part of 112 hectares that the state government has acquired for setting up a tourism village by a Dubai-based company.
Information gathered by The Tribune reveals that the proposed land transfer for the tourism village project will seriously impact the teaching, research and extension programmes of the university. At least four important research and teaching programmes of the university are at present underway on 112 hectares acquired for the tourism village project. Besides, land transfer will jeopardise other important upcoming projects essential for the university to remain in the mainstream.
The major casualty will be the Advanced Natural Farming Centre, which has been funded by the state government and the ICAR for developing protocols of natural farming in Himachal.
The Centre has given a grant of Rs 22 crore for the natural farming centre while the state government has provided Rs 3 crore. The aim of the project is to introduce advanced natural farming in the state, develop new technologies and train agriculture technocrats. The farmers of the state are also trained at the centre in new techniques for adopting natural farming.
The other project underway on this land pertains to the production of seeds being executed in collaboration with the Japan International Corporation (JICA) and the state government. The Rs 10-crore project is in progress on 14 hectares, which has also been transferred for the tourism village project. The main objective of the JICA project is to meet the vegetable and seed requirements of the state.
The Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Rights Authority project of the Union Ministry of Agriculture is the third one in progress on the acquired land. Under this project, the agriculture university, Palampur, has the distinction of having one of the five branch offices in the country. The Palampur office serves the farmers of the north western Himalayan region covering J&K, Himachal and Uttarakhand.
The Dairy Unit Veterinary and Animal Sciences Department will also be closed. The fodder and grazing pasture land for rearing cattle and animals for teaching and research of BVSc and BSc (Animal Husbandry) graduates and postgraduate students of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences of the university is located at the site proposed for the tourism village project.
Ashok Kumar Sarial, ex-Vice-Chancellor and an agriculture scientist, says that the transfer of 112 hectares from the university pool is a setback to the agriculture sector in the state. “The government should set up a committee of experts from all over India to examine the issue and also honour the suggestions given by Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, who had opposed the decision to transfer the university land for the tourism village project.
Advanced centre major casualty
The major casualty will be the Advanced Natural Farming Centre, which has been funded by the state government and the ICAR for developing protocols of natural farming in Himachal Pradesh.
