Modified Ultra High Density Apple Plantation scheme is getting momentum in district Poonch and the orchardists/ beneficiaries are showing keen interest in availing the benefits if the same with the assistance from the horticulture department.
It is pertinent to mention here that this high density apple crop is ready to harvest about 25-30 days earlier as compared to the traditional apple varieties, which in turn fetches better returns. As a part of the scheme, the farmers can also avail loan facility at nominal interest rates from J&K Bank for establishment of orchards.
The farmers are facing difficulty in easy access to loans from J&K bank and in order to remove the bottlenecks in the disbursement of loans, Joint Director Horticulture Jammu, C L Sharma, on the directions of Director Horticulture Jammu, Ram Savak, called on District Development Commissioner Poonch, Inderjeet, to discuss the constraints being faced by farmers in getting loan from JK Bank.
Cluster Head J&K Bank elaborated Deputy Commissioner about the check list as part of loan sanctioning / disbursement procedure.The DDC, while reviewing the progress of loan cases, enquired from Joint Director Horticulture about the problems being faced by the farmers.
The Joint Director Horticulture briefed DC Poonch about the number of cases pending with JK Bank due to title verification.The DC appreciated the role of the department of Horticulture for synergizing with Bank authority in the best interest of the farmer community and directed revenue authorities to authenticate the land records immediately as and when farmers approach them.
Simultaneously, bank authorities were also directed to consider the loan applicant as co-borrower in the absence of title verification.Later, DC Poonch handed over the letter of the loan sanctioned by the JK Bank to the beneficiary namely Haq Nawaz Ahmed of Surankote for establishment of HD apple orchard.
Chief Horticulture Officer Poonch, Sanjeev Kumar complimented DC Poonch for his kind initiative in resolving issues of loanee farmers which will pave the way for economic development of the district.