CM announces slew of incentives for intensifying agriculture diversification in Punjab

Chandigarh, February 24, 2015: In a bid to propel the state government’s ambitious program of Agriculture diversification, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced a slew of incentives viz. bringing the power tariff rates applicable in Dairy, fishery, goatry and piggery at par with Agriculture sector, advancing soft loans to the beneficiaries of goatry and piggery at interest rates equivalent to dairy sector,  stabilizing the milk purchase rate and making it uniform across the state besides introducing single window for the promotion of allied farm sector.

Presiding over a series of meetings with the progressive Dairy farmers, piggery, goatry and fishery beneficiaries here at Punjab Bhawan, the Chief Minister said that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited would henceforth charge Agriculture-AP Tariff from dairy farms against the commercial rate being charged at present. He said that the eligible beneficiaries of allied farming sector would get the power bills on the reduced tariff from existing Rs 7.75 per unit to Rs 4.57 per unit from the coming cycle.

Acceding to a major demand of the Dairy farmers, the Chief Minister announced that Milkfed, Punjab would pay uniform procurement price of milk to the milk producers throughout the year across the state. He said that the loss incurred, if any by Milkfed, in the implementation of the decision would be made good by the government. Likewise, Badal said that the state government would provide 50% subsidy on all the components of two to six local/ desi cow breeds dairy units for the promotion of indigenous breeds.

The Chief Minister also apprised the farmers that he has been actively pursuing the matter of lowering the Fat content in the standards fixed for cow milk for Punjab from 4.0% to 3.5% and thereby to establish parity with other States of the Country, with the Government of India. He said that the Union Government has already given in principle approval to rectify the infirmity in the existing guidelines of Milk fat and formal orders to this effect would be issued shortly.

On the demands of the Dairy farmers to help them in increasing the term of loan for dairy shed and other machinery to 15 years and implement SNF formula being used by Nestle in Milkfed while computing the price of milk besides incentivizing for value addition and processing of milk, the Chief Minister directed that a small group consisting of representatives of dairy farmers and departmental officers should be constituted to look into all these issues and come out with a workable proposal. Likewise, he also announced that soft loans upto Rs 1 lakh would be advanced to the beneficiaries of goatry and piggery, through the Cooperative Banks, at interest rates equivalent to dairy sector

The Chief Minister further asked the Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry to introduce a single window facility to be manned by senior officers of the Animal husbandry department on the pattern of Industrial Promotion Bureau for all the issues related to dairy, poultry, piggery and goatry. He also announced the exemption of VAT on the Pig feed as in the case of Cattle feed. Similarly, Badal also sanctioned a sum of Rs 1 crore for installation of incubator at GADVASU for processing of Piggery products.

Likewise, the Chief Minister also announced to set up four nuclear breed farms for the breed enhancement of beetle goat.  Badal further said that water testing laboratories would be established on all the 14 government fish seed farms to ensure clean and disease free water for rearing best quality fish.  

Meeting was attended by Cabinet Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner, Animal Husbandry Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Principal Secretary Finance Mrs. Vinnie Mahajan, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister KJS Cheema, Advisor, Punjab Government on Animal Husbandry Dr. PK Uppal, Director, Animal Husbandry Dr. HS Sandha,  Joint Director, Dairy Development Department Jasbir Singh,  General Manager, Milkfed HS Grewal, General Manager, NABARD RK Pasricha, Director National Research Centre in Piggery Guwahati Dr. DK Sharma, Director Central Institute of Research in Goatry Dr SK Aggarwal  and Convener, State Level Banking Committee (SLBC) Vipul Kaushik.