The big claims of the Jammu & Kashmir government have fallen flat after it failed to disburse the amount to the maximum number of farmers who sold their apples under the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) launched on August 12.
To date, over 30,000 apple boxes have been procured from farmers at four Kashmir markets after 3000 farmers registered themselves through the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED).
Sources in the Horticulture Department have stated that to date, apples worth over Rs 20 mln (€254,000) have been procured from the farmers in four fruit mandis of Kashmir, but only Rs 4 mln was released into the bank accounts of beneficiaries.
Distressed farmers said they have been cheated by the authorities for not releasing funds on time.
Also, according to 5dariyanews.com¸ the Jammu and Kashmir government offer to procure apples through NAFED seems to have more or less remained a non-starter as less and less growers have come forward to sell their produce in the first three weeks.
