2598 hectares rejuvenated under National Saffron Mission

Pulwama, Apr 07: A total of 2598.75 hectares of land have been rejuvenated across various districts of Jammu and Kashmir under the National Saffron Mission.
The information was shared by the Jammu and Kashmir government in response to a starred question by MLA Khanyar, Ali Mohammad Sagar.
The response states that to boost saffron production and alleviate the challenges faced by growers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation, Government of India, in 2010-11, sanctioned a flagship scheme in Mission Mode titled “Economic Revival of Saffron in Jammu & Kashmir.” The scheme was designed and developed by SKUAST-Kashmir.
“The mission initially targeted 3715 hectares of saffron land for rejuvenation in a phased manner. As of now, 2598.75 hectares have been successfully rejuvenated,” the government stated.
Pulwama district, known as the saffron heartland of Kashmir, had the largest target under the mission with 3200 hectares earmarked for rejuvenation. Of this, 2055.75 hectares have been completed. Budgam surpassed its target of 300 hectares by rejuvenating 328 hectares, while Srinagar and Kishtwar fully achieved their respective targets of 165 hectares and 50 hectares.
The total project cost is ₹400.11 crore, comprising ₹315.99 crore from the Government of India and ₹84.12 crore as the farmers’ contribution. So far, ₹269.915 crore has been released, and ₹259.67 crore has been spent on the ground.