THEOG: In the apple-growing belt of Theog, neither the Congress nor the BJP are finding any favour. Though
Himachal Pradesh
’s outgoing horticulture minister, Vidya Stokes, has represented this rural constituency five times since 1982,
apple growers here say none of the two parties has kept promises made before coming to power.
In a meeting with TOI near his orchard on Saturday, Theog-based grower Joginder Thakur gave an example of how the two parties did not help any of them. “The BJP promised to end damage caused by hailstorms by introducing anti-hail guns, but they were costly and ineffective. On the other hand, the outgoing Congress government promised to introduce nets to protect our plantations from hailstones. But most applications for subsidy are stuck and growers have already suffered losses,” he said.
The apple-growing belt of Himachal Pradesh covers at least nine areas — Kothgarh, Kumarsein, Theog, Jubbal, Kinnaur, Karsog, Kullu, Manali, and Kothkhai — and most of them encompass at least one constituency. Apple orchards extend beyond these areas and are grown in many places at an altitude of 7,000 feet.
Another Theog-based grower, Anil Sharma, said the government had failed to pay them the minimum support price (MSP) for apple, even though it had been promising it for long. “We have not gotten insecticides or new varities of apple,” he said.
Giving an example of how anti-hail guns have failed, Sharma said three such machines were installed in Ratnali and Baghi, two villages near Theog, in March this year. “But when a hailstorm arrived, they were of not much use,” he said.
Stokes, herself a grower from Theog and the daughter-in-law of pioneering horticulturist late Satyanand Stokes, the man who introduced the Himachal hills to apple growing, told TOI over the phone on Saturday that they had taken steps to help growers. “We have already set up a Rs 34-crore project in Shalaru (in
Shimla
) to improve infrastructure and help growers. The
World Bank has helped us. We have made all possible efforts,” said Stokes, who cited poor health for not talking further.
When contacted, officials at the helm said the government had taken a Rs 1,134-crore loan from World Bank on August 9, 1916 for horticulture development. “A substantial amount is being given to apple growers,” said one of them.
When asked about problems faced by growers, state government-run Horticulture Produce Marketing & Processing Corporation (HPMC) chairperson Prakash Thakur said growers needed to install more anti-hail nets, as they were “more viable”. “Centre and state government give an 80% subsidy to growers for installation of nets. Of this, the Centre pays 50% and state pays 30%. But the flow of funds has stopped from the Centre,” said Thakur.
Apple growers, on their part, are still unhappy. They said though they contribute majorly to the state’s economy, governments, be it the BJP or Congress, had neglected their needs. According to a rough estimate, Himachal growers do a business of about Rs 3,500 crore every year. A grower from Matiana in Shimla district, Sanjiv Thakur, said the government had done well in setting up cold storage facilities. “But a lot needs to be done, like providing us marketing facilities. We still rely on middlemen and lose profits. We also need a Kisan Bhawan here,” Thakur said.
According to experts, apple production is only 7-8 tonnes per hectare in Himachal Pradesh, while the international average is 40 to 60 tonnes a hectare. Even progressive orchardists in the state have been able to produce only between 20 and 30 tonnes per hectare.
Thakur said reforms were expected. “Stress will be laid on providing planting material for clonal root stock, new processing units and marketing infrastructure,” he said.