HISAR, Nov 24: The Haryana government will set up a model floriculture project near Gharaunda in the Karnal district. To be funded under the Government of India's scheme, the Rs 52.5 lakh project would be completed in a record period of two years against the stipulated period of four years.Giving this information during an exclusive interview with ENS, Kartar Singh, director Horticulture, Haryana, said that the project, with the state-of-the -art technology, would develop traditional and non-traditional flowers besides growing fruits, vegetables and potato seeds.He said that the state until now had failed to make full use of its proximity with Delhi in developing horticulture.``The visit of H.P. Singh, horticulture commissioner, Government of India, bore fruits and the central government sanctioned a revised aid of Rs 4.07 crore to the state to promote horticulture against a meagre Rs 1.39 crore given during the last year'', he said and added, ``encouraged, we have already initiated the Manyu projects, the results of which will be available shortly''.In another significant decision for the benefit of the farmers in the state, Kartar Singh disclosed that the government, as desired by the National Horticulture Board, will promote the setting up of ``group co-operative societies'' in the state and advance soft loans to the tune of Rs 1 crore at an easy rate of 4 (four) per cent annual interest.In order to overcome onion shortage, he said that the state government has decided to create zones to accelerate onion crop in the Mewat area. The current crop of Kharif cotton would also start arriving in the mandis from the second week of December, he disclosed.M.D. Sharma, joint director, who was also present, told ENS that once the floriculture project was made functional, the state would come on the export map. He said, ``of the Rs 4.05 crore aid from the Government of India under various non-staff schemes, the state has received about Rs 2.80 crore and a sum of Rs 2 cxrore has already been utilised by the department''.Meanwhile, speaking at a two-week refresher training course here at CCS, HAU, S.R. Poonia, Dean, College of Agriculture, said that in order to boost the cultivation of horticultural crops in the country, it was imperative that the newer technologies applied in their growing be disseminated to the farming community at the grassroot level.He said that there are ample chances of promotion of horticultural crops in Haryana because of its geographical location and available manpower expertise and infrastructural facilities.Organised by the Academy of Agricultural Research and Education Management (AAREM), the refresher course is being attended by 30 horticultural development officers of the State Department of Agriculture, Haryana.
