Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, while chairing a meeting of the Horticulture department here on Friday, said that the state government has cleared payments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to apple growers for produce procured under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) during the year 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
He said that payments had already been made to growers who supplied up to 30 bags of apples under the MIS and the process of releasing payments to growers who supplied 100 bags or more was now underway. He informed that the state government has released Rs. 45 crore to clear the pending liabilities.
Reviewing the preparations for apple procurement under the MIS during the current season, the Chief Minister launched the Horticulture Market Intervention Scheme website and mobile application. The digital platform would facilitate end-to-end recording of the procurement process, from apple purchase to processing, ensuring greater transparency and efficiency.
Apple growers would be required to register on the portal by providing details such as Aadhaar number, land records and bank account information. They would also be able to book time slots for selling their produce, helping reduce waiting time and improving convenience.
The growers will receive SMS notifications on their mobile phones regarding procurement and payment status, ensuring complete transparency. The Chief Minister directed that dedicated staff should be deployed at collection centres during the procurement season to assist growers.
He said that employees from other departments could also be assigned, if required, and instructed officials to complete all necessary preparations to ensure that orchardists do not face any inconvenience during the procurement season. Sh. Sukhu said that the present state government was committed to safeguard the interests of the farming community and had initiated various schemes for their upliftment. He said that the universal carton system had been introduced for packaging the apple produce so that growers could be saved from the exploitation of middlemen.
Chairman, HIMFED, Maheshwar Singh Chauhan, Secretary Horticulture C. Paulrasu, Director, Digital Technology and Governance Dr. Nipun Jindal, Managing Director, HPMC D.C. Rana, Director, Horticulture Satish Kumar and other senior officers of the department were also present on the occasion.