Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu today e -inaugurated four projects of Jammu and Kashmir Agro Industries Development Corporation and Horticulture Planning & Marketing department, in presence of Sh. Navin Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Horticulture Department.In Horticulture Planning & Marketing department, three projects were e-inaugurated: e- National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) for Fruit &Vegetable Market Narwal, Jammu , Fruit & Vegetable Market, Bishnah and Apni Mandi Chadwal, Kathua .The e-NAM provides a hassle free and pan-India trade platform for the farmers and the traders. It provides uniformity across the integrated markets, transparent auctioning process, real time price discovery based on actual demand and supply, with availability of better quality of fruits and vegetables and other agriculture produce ensuring proper returns to the farmers. The project is funded by the Government of India while Narwal mandi is the second of its kind inaugurated after Parimpora Mandi, Srinagar. The newly established fruit and vegetable market at Bishnah, spanning an area of around 20 kanals, shall provide better marketing facility for farmers/growers and the traders of the area by facilitating the local farmers and traders for marketing and selling their produce at a centralized location. This market has been built at a project cost of Rs 221.52lacs. Similarly, the Apni Mandi Chadwal, Kathua, provides centralized market access facility to the farmers and traders of the surrounding areas.
Against the project cost of Rs. 99.90lacs , an amount of Rs 65.47lacs has already been spent till March 2020. The infrastructure constructed till date includes the auction platform and administrative block besides boundary fencing and space for shop sites for the traders/farmers.The Lt Governor also laid the e-foundation stone of 5000 MT capacity climate control storage plant to be built in Agriculture complex Talab Tillo Jammu at a cost of Rs 23 Cr spreading over 10 Kanals. The project will have 21 Cold rooms and four Ripening Rooms with a total capacity of 5000 MTs. The proposed plant would also have a solar power facility to reduce costs in the long run and a latest system of temp management for chilled and frozen storage of wide range of vegetables and fruits. The plant will have ripening facility for safe ripening of fruits and vegetables and backup power facility being provided by solar panels. As this is the first plant of such capacity coming up in public sector, this would facilitate the farmers of Jammu and adjoining districts where they will benefit getting the cold storage facility at economic rates.All the above projects will not only facilitate but would fill the gaps in the infrastructure deficiency of Jammu province and this would result in farmers getting appropriate returns of their produce and thus helping to increase their incomes.