March 15 deadline to meet target in Mahabubnagar

Mahabubnagar: March 15, 2023, has been set as the final deadline for the horticulture department to reach the leftover plantation target of 800 acres of Oil Palm Plantation in Mahabubnagar district.

In fact, Mahabubnagar district has been set a target of plantation of more than 3,262 acres of Oil Palm Plantation, of which already 2,000 acres of land has been installed with plantation and another 442 acres of land is ready to get installed with Oil Palm Plantation as the distribution of plants and plant material is under process. However, the remaining 800 acres of plantation has not yet been taken and for this, the district collector has set March 15, 2023 for the officials to complete the plantation programme and see that the total targets set for Mahabubnagar district for Oil Palm plantation is successfully achieved.

While taking part in a video conference review meeting with the horticulture department officials on Saturday, the district collector G Ravi Nayak said that clear directions have been issued to the Horticulture and Agriculture department officials to accelerate their plan of action to spread awareness about the importance of Oil Palm plantation and profits from it to the farmers and convince them to pay their share of demand drafts to the government to get subsidies on installing Oil Palm plantation in their fields.

"The state government is giving highest priority for plantation of Oil Palm across Telangana state. As part of this in Mahabubnagar also, we have already reached more than 75 per cent of oil palm plantation target and by March 15, we are expecting to reach 100 per cent target, for which we have directed the horticulture, agriculture, micro irrigation and other departments to coordinate and expedite the oil palm plantation programme in the district," informed the collector.

Giving instruction to the horticulture and agriculture extension officials, the district collector said that particularly in rural villages there is still lack of proper awareness on the Oil Palm Plantation programme and the subsidy schemes provided by the government to promote this plantation in a big way. The horticulture and agriculture department officials have been told to take the issue seriously and go out full throttle into the villages and hold regular meetings with the farmers and convince them to opt for Oil Palm Plantation.

Horticulture Department Assistant Director Sai Baba said that the government will give first priority to those who come first and for opting the benefits of the Oil Palm Plantation programme scheme, the farmers must pay the Demand Drafts for the getting plantation materials and drip irrigation materials on subsidy from the government. "We request the interested farmers to come forward and pay the Demand Drafts, so that representatives of drip Irrigation companies will prepare estimates and the same will be submitted to the government for sanction of the subsides for the plant materials and other plantation progrmame works," informed the Horticulture AD.