Farmers Movement Archive

Punjab government to acquire land for ICAR’s horticulture institute

Tribune News ServiceAmritsar, June 25  Undue DelayThe site-selection committee of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) had given the approval for 30-acre land in Chhiddan village on the Amritsar-Attari road long ago, the Capt Amarinder Singh government has failed to acquire the same. This chunk of land is to be used for the construction of administrative-cum-academic blocks and hostels of the Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education in the city.It shows lack of interest towards the institution which has immense potential to offer expert guidance to farmers to diversify and extricate from vicious circle of wheat and paddy.The then Union Finance Minister late Arun Jaitley had sanctioned the institute in 2015 and soon 100 acres of land was transferred in the name of ICAR at Attari village near the Indo-Pak border for the establishment of the institute.On behalf of the state government, the district administration is to acquire the land. Sources in the administration stated that the piece of land, approved by the ICAR’s site-selection committee, belonged to a big landlord farmer. As per the collector rate, the cost of an acre of land is less than Rs 10 lakh but the owner is seeking Rs 65 lakh per acre.Kulwant Singh and Manmohan Singh Brar, both farmers, say the researchers and scientists of the institute would be instrumental in providing modern techniques, infrastructure and horticulture related knowledge to them. Crop diversification, drip irrigation, spray irrigation will be promoted among the farmers, they said.

The Tribune

2020-06-26