An audit scrutiny by the Comptroller and Auditor General has indicted the J-K Government for neglecting the Agriculture and Allied sector,responsible for contributing 27 per cent to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in the last five years. The CAG report has revealed that even as the net sown area in the state had declined by 11,000 hectares and irrigated area by 2,000 hectares from 2004-05 to 2006-07,the state had spent a whopping 85 per cent of the Rs 550.68 crore allocation (excluding Centrally sponsored schemes) for the Agriculture sector during 2003-08 to meet establishment costs. This exorbitant cost of establishment prevented any significant expenditure on crucial areas of agricultural production,thereby affecting the development of agriculture in the state, the report observed. While it attributed the decline in net sown area and irrigated area to urbanisation,coming up of railway/road projects and construction of complexes etc,it observed that no steps had been taken by government to arrest this decline. Even the plan allocation under the Agriculture and Allied sector declined from 9.42 per cent in 2003-04 to 6.03 per cent in 2006-07 with the allocation in the Agriculture sector alone declining from 1.89 to 1.46 per cent during the period. However,despite the decline in plan allocation,the funds provided under the Centrally sponsored schemes were not fully utilised. Citing the example of the Centrally-sponsored Integrated Scheme of Oilseeds,Pulses,Oil Palm and Maize,the report said that the Government of India had released Rs 85 lakh in May 2004 and Rs 1.43 crore in May 2005. These funds which were required by executing agencies during the sowing season (1st and 2nd quarter of the year) were released by the state government after a delay of 4-6 months. As a result,the executing agencies could spend only Rs 1.57 crore,thereby leaving an unutilised balance of Rs 70.49 lakh,rendering them ineligible for the second instalment of Rs 2.27 crore. Even the targets set by the state Agriculture Department were far below the 10th Plan targets which,as per the National Agriculture Policy 2000 aimed at a growth rate of 4 per cent during the period. Though no reasons were given for lowering the targets for the year 2006-07 in respect of wheat and maize,the CAGs audit scrutiny attributed it to a shortfall in distribution of high yielding variety seeds,decline in the rate of yield,poor performance of seed farms,decline in net sown area and non-availability of irrigation facilities.
