Shimla: To look into the exploitation and grievances of fruit growers by the traders, private CA store owners and others at various levels, the state government has announced to constitute of a committee.
The Committee would be headed by the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary Finance, Principal Secretary Excise and Taxation, Secretaries Agriculture and Horticulture would be members besides representatives of various farmers’ Associations.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, in a meeting with representatives of the fruit growers Association and line departments of the State Government regarding apple season-2022 on Thursday, acknowledged that apple growers were being exploited at different levels thus the committee would look into the matter.
The Chief Minister said that the apple economy of the State was worth about Rs. 5000 crores and was a major contributor to the State’s GDP.
The Chief Minister said that efforts would be made to clear the pending liabilities of the horticulturists. He also asked the concerned authorities to look into the matter of collection of taxes/charges levied at various barriers.
Horticulture Minister Mahender Singh Thakur, Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur, MLA Chopal Balbir Verma, MLA Theog Rakesh Singha and former Mayor Shimla Municipal Corporation Sanjay Chauhan and other progressive fruit growers gave their valuable suggestions on the occasion.
