Restore subsidy on polyhouses, Kangra farmers urge minister

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, February 14

Kangra farmers are criticising the state government for stopping subsidy for setting up polyhouses. They say that the scheme for polyhouses was started by the BJP government led by former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2010. Farmers used to get up to 80 per cent subsidy for setting up polyhouses under the scheme. Successive government continued the scheme but the present Congress government discontinued it.

Today, members of the Kangra Farmers and Nurserymen Organisation met Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar at Kotla and urged him to restore subsidy earlier provided under the polyhouse scheme.

The farmers said that the government should allocate funds for the “Mukhyamantri Nutan Polyhouse Scheme” in the forthcoming Budget. The Agriculture Ministry runs the scheme that aims to promote protective cultivation in polyhouses.

The farmers alleged that the government had stopped providing funds for the polyhouse scheme. Over the years, successive BJP and Congress governments had consistently allocated adequate funds for it. However, for the past one year, the scheme had been discontinued, causing distress among aspiring young farmers who see polyhouse farming as a viable livelihood option, they said.

Narinder Pathak, a farmer, alleged that the abrupt halting of government support was disheartening. It had undermined the aspirations of young farmers eager to embrace polyhouse farming. It had also cast a doubt on the future of polyhouse projects in the state despite numerous success stories demonstrating their efficacy in enhancing farmers’’ incomes and creating employment opportunities, he added.

The farmers said that the polyhouse scheme had played a pivotal role in driving agricultural development and socio-economic growth. They claimed that many farmers, not only from Himachal but also from other states, had flourished through polyhouse farming, contributing to both their own sustenance and broader community welfare, they added.

The farmers urged the minister to realign the government’’s vision and provide assistance to farmers in establishing polyhouse projects for agriculture development. The Kangra Farmers and Nurserymen Organisation and other stakeholders said that they were ready to collaborate with the government in revitalising the polyhouse sector. The minister assured the farmers of looking into their demands.

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