13,202 metric tonnes of apples procured so far during this season: Horticulture Minister

SHIMLA, 09.10.26-Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi, while addressing a press conference here today, said that 13,202.666 metric tonnes of apples had been procured so far this season under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) by the Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) and HIMFED.

Jagat Singh Negi said that several factors had contributed to the decline in apple production this year, including untimely rainfall, unseasonal rains and cold weather during the flowering stage, and inadequate chilling hours.

The Horticulture Minister said that the BJP leaders are misleading farmers and orchardists. He said that the present state government had inherited outstanding MIS dues amounting to Rs. 114 crore from the previous BJP government. In addition to clearing the liabilities inherited from the previous government, the present state government had paid more than Rs. 262 crore to farmers and orchardists so far.

Jagat Singh Negi further said that 1,23,34,739 apple boxes had reached the markets so far during this season.

The Horticulture Minister said that, as part of the government's Vyavastha Parivartan initiative, a long-standing practice under the MIS had been changed to ensure greater transparency. Farmers and orchardists are now being registered through an application. He said that this had resulted in a reduction in the number of registered farmers and orchardists while ensuring complete transparency in the process.

He said that payments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) had been made to 11,285 farmers and orchardists with fewer than 30 bags and 2,827 farmers and orchardists with fewer than 100 bags under the MIS. Meanwhile, approximately 7,000 farmers and orchardists with more than 100 bags had been identified. Of these, 2,000 cases had been verified, while documents related to land records had been sought for verification in the remaining 5,000 cases.

Jagat Singh Negi said that an increase of one rupee under the MIS had been announced which will benefit thousands of farmers and orchardists.

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SHIMLA -9 October, 2026

• Directs to complete all activities in 3000 hectares by 28^th Feb, 2027

Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi today here held a review meeting of the HP SHIVA Project with the officers of Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra, Solan, Sirmaur and Una districts. Funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the HP SHIVA Project is being implemented in seven districts of Himachal Pradesh.

During the meeting, the Minister was apprised that a target of developing 3,000 hectares of land has been set under the first phase of the project. So far, around 2,700 hectares have been developed and plantation work has been completed on 1,900 hectares. Plantation on the remaining area is expected to be completed by January-February 2027. Plum and persimmon are among the major winter-season fruit crops to be planted in these areas.

A total of 331 clusters have been finalized for the 3,000-hectare area, benefiting around 10,646 farmer families.

The Minister was also informed that survey work for the second phase of the project is underway. Around 2,500 hectares of land have been identified, while surveys are in progress on 2,153 hectares. Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for around 1,500 hectares have been prepared and sent to the Asian Development Bank for technical approval. Following the receipt of approval, the tendering process is expected to begin in the last week of October.

Jagat Singh Negi directed officials to ensure that only high-quality plants are procured for the project. He said that the plants of substandard quality would not be accepted. Nursery operators were also directed to supply quality planting material in accordance with the prescribed technical standards and specifications.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of solar fencing, land preparation, drip irrigation, lift irrigation schemes and other construction and infrastructure works.

The Horticulture Minister directed field officials and the Project Management Unit to complete all project activities within the stipulated time. He stressed that all clusters under the 3,000-hectare target must be fully developed and handed over to the farmers. He also directed officials to speed up the tendering process to ensure the timely start of work under the second phase.

Jagat Singh Negi directed officers to complete all activities under the first phase, covering 3,000 hectares and all clusters handed over to farmers by 28^th February, 2027. He said that strict action would be taken against the concerned contractors and officials if the work was not completed within the stipulated time period.

Director of Horticulture Satish Kumar, Project Director HP SHIVA Sameer Singh, Procurement Officer Manoj Sharma and Deputy Directors from Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Mandi, Kangra, Solan, Sirmaur and Una districts were present in the meeting.