Jammu, Mar 27: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday said that it has not conducted any exclusive impact assessment survey to study the effects of tariff rebates and trade concessions extended to foreign countries on the Union Territory’s horticulture sector, even as it maintains a “continuous watch” through regular interactions with the Government of India and trade bodies.
In a written reply to MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Para, the government as per Kashmir Convener stated in the Legislative Assembly that while no separate survey has been carried out specifically for this purpose, it keeps a close watch on sectoral developments through sustained engagement with the Centre, trade bodies, and growers’ associations.
The government informed the House that the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS), previously utilized for the procurement of horticulture produce, has been “closed.” However, it stated that the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, is currently visiting Jammu and Kashmir along with other MIS-implementing states to conduct an evaluation. The Director of Horticulture (P&M) was nominated as nodal officer vide Government Order No. 565-JK (APD) of 2025, dated December 9, 2025, to coordinate with the DMEO team.
The government detailed the extent of enforcement actions taken against substandard agricultural inputs over the last two years. Data presented in an annexure to the reply revealed that a total of 10,483 inspections were conducted across the Kashmir and Jammu zones between 2023-24 and December 2025. Of these, 1,179 samples were analyzed, with 190 samples found to be misbranded or non-standard.
Consequently, the government launched 149 prosecutions for violations related to pesticide samples and recovered a fine of Rs 23.50 lakh by December 2025. Similarly, 110 prosecutions were initiated concerning fertilizer samples, resulting in the recovery of Rs 1.31 lakh.
The government further informed the House that the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme has been introduced for major horticulture crops. In the Kashmir division, the scheme covers apple and saffron, while in the Jammu division, it extends to mango and litchi, with saffron restricted to Kishtwar district only.
According to the reply, tenders have been invited from insurance companies empaneled by the Government of India, and the process of allotting the work to the lowest bidder (L1) insurance companies is currently in progress.
The reply outlined the legal framework governing the sector, including the Insecticides Act, 1968, and the Fertilizer Control Order, 1985. It added that an established mechanism exists for batch-wise sampling of fertilizers, with a dedicated checkpoint at Lower Munda in Qazigund where consignment documents are verified.
The Agriculture Production Department has notified testing laboratories, with two NABL-accredited Fertilizers Testing Laboratories—one each in Jammu and Srinagar—and six Pesticides Testing Laboratories functional across the Union Territory in Jammu, Srinagar, Kadder Kulgam, and Kreeri Baramulla.
Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for regulation, quality assurance, distribution, and monitoring of fertilizers and pesticides have been issued vide Government Order No. 402 JK (APD) of 2025, dated September 2, 2025. Officials noted that if samples are found to be non-standard during testing, proper action is initiated as per the provisions of the central acts.
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