Believed to have played a crucial role in dethroning of the Jai Ram government, the apple growers who are apparently under distress due to steep rise in inputs costs and other market factors, are pinning hopes on newly installed Congress government, reports Rajesh Moudgil
The recently held assembly poll results in Himachal Pradesh have two bitter takeaways for the ousted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – aside from government employees’ demand for old pension scheme, Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government also did not take apple growers’ demands for relief from various factors affecting the trade, seriously. Hence, the drubbing in the polls.
The apple trade, which contributes around 13.5% of the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) of around Rs 6,000 crore, engages more than 1.7 lakh families in the hilly state.
Stressed due to the consistent poor returns, the apple farmers had also repeatedly staged demonstrations at the state secretariat under the aegis of Himachal Kisan Manch a few months ago.
The 20-point demand charter given to the state by apple growers included many issues.
The main among them included restoration of subsidies on inputs on pesticides, fertilizers, implements, exempt GST of 18% on packing material, removal of all unhealthy marketing practices in state-owned marketing board followed through marketing committees, public sector procurement agencies and the private marketing players, introduction of the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) on grading basis, implement insurance back-up in case of crop losses of apples due to inclement weather, transportation and marketing, increase in infrastructure like cold-storage and processing units from strategic points to apex levels, facilitating the exports removing to some constraints in quality standards, enhancement in the import duty to 100% from 70%, support to growers to enhance productivity of apples per unit area, and establishing the state Horticulture Board and Commission.
The Bitter Dose
Since the BJP apparently failed to give a timely and satisfactory response to the anguished apple farmers, the apple farmers gave a bitter dose to its candidates as was evident from the poll results.
Spread in about 20 assembly seats in Kinnaur, Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts, it is the apple belt that significantly influences the political contours of the state.
Sample this: In 2012, the Congress won six seats out of eight seats in the Shimla district and four in 2017, when the BJP came to power in the state, while Theog seat went to CPI-M leader Rakesh Singha.
This time, the Congress won 12 of the said 17 assembly seats which include seven seats out of total eight in Shimla; likewise, the other apple growing belt Kinnaur gave it one and Mandi and Kullu belts, two each.
