BY C. M. SHARMA In J&K, Agriculture is the occupation of a majority of the population. It is a land based occupation, but more than 80% of the Geographical Area is reported to be badly affected by soil erosion. Only around 20% of the degraded forests are treated for restoration. Degradation of forests leading to
Does Irrigation Deptt need a shake-up ?
How can a trust be implanted in those who would like to respond to various tenders floated by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC) when the word spreading about it is not having been in a position to clear a liability of over Rs. 12 crore of some contractors for as many as 6 long years. Finance and money matters are too fragile and sensitive to be taken lightly. The more trust about a particular department about honouring its financial commitments well in time is fairly known , the more would the community of contractors like to work for them. Not only this, the Department supposed to look into the proper upkeep of the Ranbir Canal , Pratap Canal and its distributaries has not come up to the expected levels of timely response. As even this year, it has not launched de-silting work of the canal in time although on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi , water is released in the Ranbir Canal from Chenab at Akhnoor which during wi