After 37 years, JK sets out to conduct horticulture census

The Jammu and Kashmir government is conducting census of land under horticulture production to create a reliable data bank and devise plan for the development of the key economic sector.
The last such census, according to official records, was conducted in 1980-81.
"In the absence of any reliable and updated data on the exact area under horticulture in the state, the developmental planning for this key sector has always remained lopsided," J&K Horticulture Minister Syed Basharat Bukhari said.
The minister said that as and when the government has a reliable data bank in place regarding the exact area under horticulture activity in each district and division, the planning for development and distribution of resources could be worked out accordingly.

An official spokesman said that separate official panels at divisional and zonal levels has been constituted to create a reliable data bank regarding the exact land area under horticulture.
The panels will revisit the physical composition of existing horticulture zones and "carry out extensive fruit tree census across the state", the spokesman said. The panels will furnish their recommendations to the government within 15 days, he said.

Similarly, as per another order, Zone Level committees will carry out extensive fruit tree census in the concerned zones and furnish village-wise and fruit crop-wise details under each crop to the government.
The Committees have been asked to complete the census by the end of April 2017 in Jammu division and by the end of May 2017 in Kashmir division.

According to official records, the last extensive horticulture census in the state was conducted in 1980-81 and since then the horticulture sector has witnessed massive transformation across all the regions of the State.