Minister for Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries, Abdul Gani Kohli, today chaired a meeting here to review the functioning of Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries Departments in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts.The meeting was attended by Director Animal Husbandry Department, Director Sheep Husbandry Department, Director Fisheries Department, Chief Planning Officer Anantnag, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Anantnag, District and Block Level Officers of Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries Departments in Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama and Shopian districts.The meeting was informed that for Anantnag district the budget allocation for Animal Husbandry Department for the current financial year is Rs. 20.36 crore, with Rs. 6.30 crore having been spent out of Rs. 10.18 crore made available so far. Similarly, the CAPEX for Sheep Husbandry Department is Rs. 8.70 crore with Rs. 4.35 crore made available and that for the Fisheries Department it Rs. 17.22 crore with two-thirds of Rs. 8.61 crore made available having been spent so far.It was also given out that, as per the 19th livestock census, the livestock population of Anantnag district is 210,958 and the poultry population 388,298.
In regard to milk and egg production in the district, the Minister was informed that 1.28 lac tons of milk production has been achieved so far during the current fiscal against the target of 2.20 lac tons, while as 15.46 million egg production has so far been registered against the target of 26 million. In the private sector, it was said that 212 poultry farms are operating in the district, which has seen rearing of 18 lac birds producing a total of 3000 tons of white meat.Under NABARD, it was informed that two works of the Animal Husbandry Department, including Double Storey Veterinary Hospital Sallar and Double Storey Veterinary Hospital Larkipora, at an aggregate cost of Rs. 58.72 lac, have been completed. Whereas for 2017-18, four new veterinary hospital and bird rearing spaces have been proposed under RIDF (NABARD), involving DPRs worth Rs. 230 lacs prepared by the R&B Department.For the development of Scheduled Tribes, it was said that Bakerwal Chek, Manzmoh, Tanjloo and Dandiwara shall be developed as model cluster villages where besides infrastructural development dairy units and multilayer bird farms shall be developed at an estimated cost of Rs. 32.125 lac.
Under the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme, it was informed that 111 cases were sponsored out of which 31 have been sanctioned so far. In addition, 23 cases have been sponsored under cluster mode for Sansuma of Achabal Block.The Minister was also briefed about different schemes and activities under execution in the districts.Speaking on the occasion, Kohli said that with about 70% of the rural population is involved in agriculture and allied sectors the animal, speed and fisheries departments can significantly boost the rural economy. He stressed on effective implementation of the schemes so that the youth of these districts can benefit.Kohli said there was a need for upgradation of infrastructure of these departments and reiterated the government’s commitment to the same in order to make them more effective.On the occasion, the Minister also launched online poultry mandi and SMS service of Animal Husbandry Department. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the online mandi will significantly regulate the pricing of white meat while as the SMS-based system will help the department reach out to farmers in an effective manner.