MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas has vowed that the government would take all measures to facilitate the farmers and other citizens with a proclivity for farming to usher the state in an era of self-sufficiency in food commodities.
“We regard the farmers as the ‘crown on our heads’ and I assure them that the more they work hard the more the government will strengthen their hands,” he said in a statement on Sunday,
“If our farmers exploit their full potential over the next two years, I have no qualms about saying that their hard work and dedication can usher our region in an era of self-sufficiency in food commodities and subsequently prosperity,” he said.
The farmers achieving good crop yields would be appreciated and rewarded at agriculture related ceremonies and functions, he said and added that the government would also allocate quotas for their children for admissions in professional colleges and universities.
Says govt to allocate quotas for their children in professional colleges, universities
However, at the same time, the prime minister warned that the non-cultivated arable land would render its owner liable to a fine of Rs50,000 per kanal per annum.
Similarly, he declared, there would be a complete ban on constructions on fertile lands and violators would have to pay at least Rs3 million in fine against each marla.
Declaring that March 15 to April 27 would be observed in AJK as ‘Fish Days,’ he said the fisheries department was being given a target that fish worth at least Rs3 billion should be reared within the AJK territory.
Instead of chicken, people should consume fish as a source of protein and other nutrients, apart from pulses, vegetables and fruits, he said.
Mr Ilyas announced that special days would be celebrated in educational institutions for multiplication of wildlife and livestock and those making valuable contributions in this regard would be given cash prizes.
The government would also distribute Angora rabbits and silkworms among the interested farmers free of cost, apart from taking steps for the cultivation and promotion of fruit trees so that the territory can become self-sufficient in most varieties of fruit over the next three to four years, he said.
He said the government was also contemplating declaring kitchen gardening and planting of at least three fruit trees mandatory in all houses built over five marlas and more.
Mr Ilyas said the government also planned to set up yak farms in AJK with the cooperation of Gilgit-Baltistan government because the yak meat was believed to be beneficial for people suffering from cardiac ailments.
He urged the people to take full advantage of the initiatives of his government and play their part in making the motherland prosperous and self-sufficient.
Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2023
