To give a big thrust to improve the farm productivity in the State, the State has given its clear mandate to Punjab Agriculture University, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) and other premier educational institute to focus on research based projects. This was discussed in StateLevel Sanctioning Committee meeting of Rashtrya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) chaired by Mr. Sarvesh Kaushal, Chief Secretary, Punjab. The main objectives of this scheme are to incentivize the State so as to increase the public investment in agriculture and allied sectors; to provide flexibility and autonomies to the States in the process of planning and executing agriculture and allied sector scheme. The main components of the scheme include production growth and Infrastructure assets developments.
During the review meeting, agriculture and allied sector projects worth Rs. 353 crore related to agriculture and allied sector were discussed in detail. It was informed that for the financial year 2014-15, Rs. 284.35 crore has already been released to the nodal departments and implementing agencies for the implementation of approved projects under RKVY and its sub-schemes. The physical progress of the projects was reviewed in detail by the Chief Secretary. Chief Secretary instructed officials of Agriculture department to immediately send utilization certificates of previous years to Government of India to avoid any hindrance to the funds meant for next financial year. The project proposal namely “establishment of infrastructural facilities in new College of Veterinary Sciences at Rampura Phull Bathinda” was approved with revised outlay of Rs. 92.14 crore.
Chief Secretary stressed that the ongoing schemes should be given preference under this scheme so that the projects of the previous years may be completed on time. While discussing the projects of Agriculture Department, Chief Secretary emphasized to provide quality seeds to the farmers. For this purpose seeds already certified by the seed certification authorities of the state will again be tested by Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana to the tune of 1% of the sample already tested. He also stressed on targeted research for the minor crops namely pulses and oilseeds to replace the area from paddy crop to these minor crops. Vice Chancellor, Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana was asked to submit a proposal for providing scholarship to PhD Students pursuing this targeted research on oilseed and pulses.
Department of Agriculture was asked to release the funds to the Agriculture and other Universities on priority. The Department of Agriculture was asked to include projects focusing on organic farming under this scheme so that organic farming can be given big thrust in the State. The key projects of Agriculture department which were considered included project for improving wheat crop productivity, efficient distribution of fertilizers in the State, efficient use of irrigation water, efficient utilization of nitrogenous fertilizers, technology to check straw burning etc. Chief Secretary stressed that State must improve the usage of bio fertilizers among the farmers to prevent any long term health hazards to the people.
Projects worth Rs. 19.23 crore were also approved for Punjab Agriculture University by the Committee. The key projects included development of modern seed storage facilities, mechanization of sugar harvesting, breeding for high performance hybrids of maize, establishment of tissue culture unit etc. Chief Secretary assured VC, PAU that funds for these projects shall be provided on priority and PAU should effectively utilize the funds for improvement of overall Agriculture and allied sectors of the State. Further the projects worth Rs. 8.27 crore were considered for GADVASU for various projects focusing on milk production, improvement in reproductive performance, novel preservation methods for eggs and meat,nutiritional strategies for livestock etc. In the end Chief Secretary asked the Department of Agriculture to immediately prioritize the projects considered during the meeting and send the updated proposal to Government of India so that funds can be received on time.The officers present in the meeting included Mr. G Vajralingam, Financial Commissioner Development, Mr. S K Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Cooperation, Mr. Viswajit Khanna, Financial Commissioner Forests, Mr. K S Pannu, Secretary Irrigation, Mr. Atul Patne, Director National Horticulture Mission, Govt of India, Mr. B S Dhillon, VC PAU and other officials from the concerned departments.