Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today directed the authorities to book the dealers found to be involved in the adulteration of pesticides and fungicides under the controversial Public Safety Act.
"In a significant announcement, Mehbooba Mufti directed slapping of the Public Safety Act on the dealers found conclusively involved in adulteration or selling of spurious pesticides and fungicides in the state," an official spokesman said.
Mehbooba announced this while addressing a gathering of fruit growers and progressive farmers here after launching the High Density Apple Plantation Scheme.
She assured the growers that her government had flagged their concerns on priority basis and steps were being taken to address them properly.
Terming horticulture as the backbone of the state's economy, the chief minister said her government was taking a slew of measures to further incentivise the industry.
"With a huge market demand and massive scope for potential realisation, the horticulture industry has the capacity to change the fortunes of not only the farming community, but the entire state with its cascading benefits," she said.
Mehbooba said it was a matter of satisfaction that the horticulture industry sustained the economy of the state, much ahead of the other sectors, during the last three decades of difficult times.
She announced that 2017 would be observed as the 'Year of Apple' to position the fruit industry in the mainstream of the state's economic discourse.
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