Revised Modified High Density Plantation Scheme, Jammu and Kashmir

What is the High Density Plantation Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir?

The Revised Modified High Density Plantation Scheme is a 100 per cent Union Territory funded scheme of the Agriculture Production Department, Government of Jammu and Kashmir, implemented on the ground by the Department of Horticulture through the Directorates of Horticulture at Kashmir and Jammu. The scheme was sanctioned by Government Order No. 176-JK (APD) of 2022 dated December 2022, following Administrative Council Decision No. 161/14/2022 dated 19 December 2022.

High density plantation, often written locally as the HDP scheme, replaces the traditional widely spaced orchard with a far denser planting on dwarfing rootstock, supported by a trellis system, micro-irrigation and an anti-hail net. An apple orchard under the scheme carries 3,333 plants per hectare on M-9 rootstock, against a few hundred in a traditional orchard. The result is that the orchard begins bearing in roughly the third or fourth year instead of the seventh or eighth, and yields far more fruit from the same land.

According to the Government Order, the stated objective is enhanced production and productivity and raising the income of farmers. The scheme covers 5,500 hectares over five years, from 2022-23 to 2026-27.

Key features

• Flat 50 per cent overall subsidy on the total worked-out cost, deliberately fixed without specifying the components, so the orchardist is not tied to a rigid component-wise ceiling.
• Twelve fruit crops covered, apple, pear, cherry, olive, kiwi, mango, litchi, citrus, guava, dragon fruit, almond and walnut.
• Qualifying orchard area of a minimum 1 kanal and a maximum 40 kanals.
• Planting material, trellis, micro-irrigation and anti-hail net are supplied and installed by a departmentally empanelled Private Enterprise, chosen by the farmer from a list of service providers.
• Subsidy released against Joint Inspection Team reports, tied to a survival rate above 90 per cent.

Who is eligible for the High Density Plantation Scheme?

You can be selected if:

• You are an orchardist or land-owning farmer in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Your qualifying orchard area is at least 1 kanal and not more than 40 kanals.
• You hold revenue records proving ownership of that land.
• Your land is found feasible for high density plantation on inspection by the Horticulture Development Officer and the Chief Horticulture Officer.
• You choose one of the 12 notified fruit crops and a Private Enterprise from the department's list of service providers.
• You are willing to deposit your own equity share with the designated bank, and to furnish collateral if you take the optional loan.

You are not eligible, or your application cannot be approved, if:

• Your holding is below 1 kanal of qualifying orchard area.
• Your land is assessed as non-feasible for high density plantation. The Government Order requires the Chief Horticulture Officer to reject such applications with valid reasons recorded, which means you are entitled to know why.
• You want a crop outside the 12 notified fruits.
• The district target for the year is already exhausted. Targets are allotted district-wise on the basis of budget allocation, so a valid application may simply be carried to the next season rather than refused on merit.

The Government Order also notes that orchardists who wish to set up high density orchards entirely on their own in the private sector may do so outside the ambit of the scheme, and that orchardists seeking other MIDH components such as creation of a water source, a pack house or machinery should be given preference.

How much money does the scheme give per hectare?

The subsidy is 50 per cent of the worked-out cost for the crop, so it varies sharply by crop because a trellised apple orchard costs many times more than a mango orchard. According to the per-hectare budget in the Government Order:

The per-hectare budget covers the cost of plants, the trellis system, micro irrigation, the anti-hail net, land development, pit digging, vermicompost, plant protection chemicals and integrated nutrient and pest management. Because the subsidy is fixed as an overall 50 per cent rather than component by component, an orchardist who spends more on one head and less on another is not penalised.

Most holdings in Jammu and Kashmir are far smaller than a hectare, and the benefit is worked out pro rata. One kanal is one-eighth of an acre, so 8 kanals make an acre and roughly 20 kanals make a hectare. An apple orchardist planting 10 kanals is therefore looking at roughly half the per-hectare figures above.

What crops, rootstocks and plant specifications are prescribed?

The Government Order fixes the rootstock and the plant specification for each crop so that farmers are not sold inferior material. Apple must be on M-9 rootstock, two years old, with five or more feathers and a height of four feet and above. Pear is on Quince BA-29C or Quince C at five feet height with five or more feathers, cherry on Gisela 3 or Gisela 5 at five feet height, walnut on Juglans regia at three feet and above, and almond on Garnem or GF 677. Olive, kiwi, mango, litchi, citrus, guava and dragon fruit have their own listed varieties and specifications.

Approved apple varieties include Super Chief Sandidge, Red Chief Campspur, Red Velox, Oregon Spur, Silver Spur, Starkrimson, Gala Redlum, Gala Buckeye, Gala Brookfield, Fuji Zhen Aztec, Fuji Kiku, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious Reindeer and Golden Delicious Clone-B. Walnut varieties include Chandler, Fernor, Maras 12, Fernette and Franquette.

The Private Enterprise is responsible for importing the planting material of the recommended varieties strictly as per the Plant Protection and Quarantine Order, 2003, keeping it in a post-entry quarantine facility, and facilitating inspection by the Designated Committee.

How to apply for the High Density Plantation Scheme in J&K

1. Register as a farmer on the HADP Kisan Sathi portal at hadp.jk.gov.in, the common Agriculture Production Department platform through which J&K farm scheme applications and grievances are handled.
2. Visit the office of your Chief Horticulture Officer and obtain the prescribed application format for high density plantation. The department calls applications from orchardists district-wise against the annual target.
3. Fill the application specifying the fruit crop you want to plant and your preference of Private Enterprise from the department's list of service providers.
4. Attach your land ownership proof. The revenue record for the qualifying orchard area, and submit the application to the Chief Horticulture Officer.
5. Wait for the feasibility check. The Horticulture Development Officer inspects the land. The Chief Horticulture Officer finalises the list after confirming both that the land is feasible and that your chosen Private Enterprise actually has the planting material. If the material is unavailable, you are offered a choice of other enterprises.
6. Have the Detailed Project Report prepared. The Chief Horticulture Officer draws up the DPR in consultation with you, the Private Enterprise and the bank, covering crop and varieties, trellis, micro-irrigation, anti-hail net, specifications, your share, the loan amount, the subsidy and the completion timeline. Sign it and keep your copy.
7. Deposit your equity with the designated bank branch, and furnish collateral to the extent of the loan if you are borrowing.
8. Complete land preparation: fencing, water source creation and land suitability work — before plantation, and let the Private Enterprise install the trellis, micro-irrigation and anti-hail systems.
9. Attend and sign the Joint Inspections when they are held, and keep the copies of the inspection reports.

How is the subsidy paid and inspected?

The Joint Inspection Team is constituted with the concerned Chief Horticulture Officer, an Agriculture Engineer, the concerned Horticulture Development Officer, a representative of the financial institution, the farmer and the Private Enterprise. Two inspections govern the money.

The first joint inspection is conducted within 15 days of the Private Enterprise applying, once the trellis, micro-irrigation, anti-hail system and plantation are complete and the plants sprout. If the systems are satisfactorily installed and the survival rate exceeds 90 per cent, the team recommends release of 80 per cent of the assistance. The report goes to the bank in the district within five days of inspection, and the bank must release payment within 10 days of receiving it. If the survival rate is below 90 per cent, the deficiencies are pointed out to the Private Enterprise, which must make them good and then apply afresh.

The second joint inspection is conducted within 15 days of the enterprise applying, when the plantation comes into bearing and the plants prove true to type. The team recommends the remaining 20 per cent within five days, and the financial institution releases it within 15 days.

For fruit crops that need no trellis and no anti-hail net, the first inspection is held after plantation and sprouting and the second when the plants bear and prove true to type, with the same 80:20 split.

A copy of every joint inspection report is also furnished to the Director Horticulture concerned, which gives you a second place to follow up if a payment stalls.

What are your responsibilities as the orchardist?

The Government Order sets out the farmer's obligations explicitly, and failing them is the commonest reason an otherwise sanctioned case runs into trouble:

• Submit the application with land ownership proof, crop preference and Private Enterprise preference.
• Complete land preparation, fencing, water source creation and land suitability work before plantation.
• Deposit your equity share with the bank as per the approved DPR, and provide collateral for the loan component if availed.
• Take responsibility for periodic maintenance of the orchard. Survival below 90 per cent at first inspection holds up 80 per cent of the money.
• Undergo training and attend awareness camps organised by the Horticulture Department with the other stakeholders.
• Give periodic feedback on project status to the Chief Horticulture Officer and the financial institution.
• Repay the term loan regularly after the moratorium, from the fourth year, if a loan was taken.
• Sign the joint inspection reports along with allied documents at the time of inspection, since the subsidy release depends on them.

Why applications get rejected or delayed

• Land found non-feasible for high density plantation on physical verification. This is the primary rejection ground and must be recorded with reasons.
• Holding below 1 kanal, or an area claim beyond the 40 kanal cap.
• District target exhausted for the financial year against the budget allocation.
• Planting material not available with the chosen Private Enterprise, which delays rather than kills the case, since you can switch to another enterprise.
• Survival rate below 90 per cent at first joint inspection, which holds the 80 per cent release until the enterprise makes good the deficiency.
• Plants not true to type at second inspection, which puts the final 20 per cent at risk and exposes the enterprise to blacklisting.

Where to get help and lodge a grievance

• HADP Kisan Sathi portal, hadp.jk.gov.in; carries a Lodge Grievance and Grievance Status facility for Agriculture Production Department schemes, a Credit Scheme Advisor at csa.jk.gov.in, and a DPR Generator at dpr.hadp.in.
• Kisan Khidmat Ghar (KKG) app on Android and iOS for expert support.
• Chief Horticulture Officer of your district. The first and most important point of contact, since the application, the feasibility report, the DPR, the work order and the joint inspection all run through this office.
• Directorate of Horticulture, Jammu, Gole Pully, Talab Tillo, Jammu, phone 0191-2505781, fax 0191-2501219, website hortijmu.jk.gov.in.
• Directorate of Horticulture, Kashmir for districts in the Kashmir division.

No agent can secure a place under this scheme for you. Selection runs through the Chief Horticulture Officer against a published district target, and the money never passes through a middleman, it goes from the bank to the Private Enterprise against a signed joint inspection report.