The Horticulture Department is expected to recommend an increase in the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme's subsidy for pesticide purchases by fruit growers in Himachal Pradesh.
The agency will also consider simplifying the grant application procedure in the plan it has created after receiving comments from its field officers.
Following a near-zero response from fruit growers to the system implemented last year, which replaced the direct sale of subsidized pesticides by horticulture authorities at their shops around the state, the department is recommending these changes to the government. "We are reviewing the scheme because there has been little interest," Horticulture Director RK Pruthi had stated.
A Horticulture official stated, "The plan is ready and will be given to the government in a few days."
A grower is eligible for a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per hectare for temperate fruits like apple and pear, and Rs 2,000 per hectare for sub-tropical fruits like mango and guava, according to the scheme. To receive the subsidy, they must also upload their land documents to the portal.
Even if growers are calling for the DBT plan to be canceled and the old system to be restored, the department is unlikely to do so. "We want to improve the program and make it more grower-friendly." All growers are asked to create Udyan cards and digitize them.
“Farmers will no longer need to upload multiple documents every time they claim a subsidy or other benefit from the department after Udyan cards are digitized. This will simplify the process's procedural complications,” said a horticulture department official.
