Srinagar, 21 Sept, KDC: PDP President and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today condemned the National Conference for its long-standing neglect of the horticulture sector, revealing that 99% of this year’s C-grade apple produce has gone waste due to the government’s failure to implement the Market Intervention Scheme (MIS).
In a statement to news agency Kashmir Dot Com (KDC), Mufti said that her late father, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, had a visionary understanding of J&K’s economic foundations and always recognized the fruit industry as the backbone of the region’s economy. “Horticulture sustains over 7 lakh families, generates annual revenues of ₹5,000–6,000 crore, and contributes nearly 8–9% of J&K’s GDP. Mufti Sahib treated this sector as a lifeline, not a seasonal concern,” she said.
Recalling the steps taken during his tenure, she added: “He waived toll tax on fruit transportation, set up mandis across districts for better market access, introduced MIS to purchase C-grade apples so growers were not forced into distress sales, and launched the High-Density Plantation Scheme to modernize horticulture and enhance productivity.”
Accusing NC of deliberate neglect, Ms. Mufti said: “For decades, NC governments treated horticulture as an afterthought. By failing to implement MIS this year, they have allowed nearly the entire stock of low-grade fruit almost 99% to rot or go to waste. Growers already struggling with repeated highway closures, natural calamities, and rising costs have been pushed to the brink.”
She stressed that this inaction reflects not just inefficiency but apathy towards the backbone of J&K’s economy. “Fruit growers are not asking for charity. They demand fairness, continuity of MIS, and guaranteed access to markets. NC’s neglect has endangered an entire community and weakened the rural economy,” she asserted.
Mufti urged the NC-led administration to immediately revive and expand MIS, ensure unhindered truck movement on the Srinagar–Jammu highway, and treat horticulture as a permanent pillar of J&K’s economic policy, not as an afterthought, the statement added. (KDC)
