Haryana to set up 15 plant health clinics

Chandigarh: To improve the agricultural yield and promote the plant sciences, Haryana is setting up 15 plant health clinics in different parts of the state.

“These plant health clinics will work in the research and development areas of plant sciences. They will provide inputs to increase the agriculture yields and to improve the quality of the final product. Most sophisticated machineries will be used at these clinics,” said a Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) official.

To be set up at a cost of Rs 20 lakh each, the HSAMB will establish these clinics at Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Jhajjar, Karnal, Nuh, Panchkula, Panipat, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonipat and Yamunanagar.

“We will complete these clinics in the next few months. The work on plant health clinics, which are coming up at a cost of around Rs 2 crore, at Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Rohtak, Sirsa, Hisar and Bhiwani is almost complete,” said the official.

Besides, the board also plans to set up ultra-modern mandis (grains and vegetables market) in the various districts of the state. It has also constructed 266 covered sheds in different market yards, besides food storage godowns with a total capacity of 426,850 metric tones. A proposal to construct six more food storage godowns with a capacity of 49,000 metric tonnes was in the pipeline.

“The work is in progress on a modern air-conditioned retail market at Panchkula, which is coming up at an estimated cost of Rs 49.80 crore. Other such retails markets will come up at Karnal at a cost of Rs 30.02 crore, in Panipat at a cost of Rs 22.27 crore and in Rohtak at a cost of Rs 45 crore. Similarly, Rs 44.85 crore has also been sanctioned for setting up an air-conditioned retail market/shopping mall at Gurgaon.