Amdani Chawanni.. Kharcha Rupaiyya

Saffron Development Farm Kishtwar, A Loss-making Venture
SHEIKH NASIR HUSSAIN
KISHTWAR: The Saffron Development Farm (SDF) situated in Berwar area of Kishtwar district is a testimony of poor government functioning. With the total annual expenditure of the farm running into crores, the 25-years-old farm has produced only 4 kgs of saffron till date.
As per the official records, the farm is spread over 217 kanals of land and government is spending lakhs of rupees every year on the salaries of the employees posted at the farm. However, only 15 kanal area of the farm is being used for saffron cultivation as a result of which, the income generated from the SDF has not even been 5% of the total money invested into the farm so far.
Sources inform that the farm was set up way back in 1961, however, it began to be used for saffron development only after 1983. Between that time, the farm was being used as Tehsil Seed Multiplication Farm. As per the official records, traditional area of saffron cultivation in Kishtwar is about 120 hectare and about 3500 families of the district are engaged in saffron cultivation. The department officials claim that the district has enough potential to grow saffron over 300 hectare, across 25 villages including Thakri, Chhatroo, Dachchan, Padder and Thathri.
Even then, the concerned officials repeatedly blame bad weather, low rainfall and crop diseases for the low production of saffron in the district. Opposed to this, the locals have a different opinion. They allege that the concerned department is not serious towards improving the yield of saffron per hectare, despite the fact that saffron is a crop having tremendous commercial importance.
Another factor that hampers the prospects of the SDF is its location, which the locals claim is not suitable for growing saffron. According to the people of the district, Pochhal or Cherhar could have been the ideal choice to set up the farm because of the quality of soil and other factors.
However, it is not as if the SDF’s only problem is its location. In the past years, the department appointed 6 gardeners at the farm while five posts, including that of on Saffron Development Officer (SDO), two Assistant officers and two field staff, are lying vacant. Despite that, only one Assistant officer and one incharge SDO have been engaged to ensure quality crop. The total expenditure on the salaries of these appointees runs into more than Rs 5 lakh a year.
The height of corrupt farm practices is evident from the fact that farm officials allegedly purchase saffron from the local growers and deposit it at the Agricultural Inputs office in Jammu as their own produce.
The Chief Agricultural Officer, Kishtwar, Manmohan Rai, informs the farm was primarily not meant for the production of saffron but for its bulbs. Rai admits that there is a substantial decline in the production every year however he expectedly blames bad weather and low rainfall for the same and says that the department is organizing awareness camps in the area for the saffron growers, to increase output.