PANAJI
The government's efforts to hold consultations and draw up a comprehensive agriculture policy for the State will be taken to the taluka level after the recent attempt to do so through the gram sabhas drew a lukewarm response.
The Agriculture department has decided to hold 'public meetings' in all the 12 talukas beginning with Dharbandora on Tuesday (October 17) at the Zonal Agricultural Office (ZAO) there. The meeting will be held at 10 am.
On Wednesday, the department has fixed a public meeting in Mormugao at the ZAO's office at 11 am and in Valpoi again at the ZAO's office at 2.30 pm on Thursday.
In Ponda, the public meeting will be held on Thursday (October 19) at 10 am at the Ponda Market Yard's Block ‘D’ while on the same day another meeting will be held at Canacona at 10.30 am at the Mamlatdar Office's Conference Hall in Chaudi.
Up north in Bicholim, the public meeting is fixed on Friday (Oct 20) at 10.30 am at the ZAO's office and on the same day a similar meeting will be held for Tiswadi taluka at the Azossim-Mandur Panchayat Hall in the afternoon at 2.30 pm.
On October 26, it will be the turn of Bardez taluka to participate and contribute to the formulation of the agriculture policy at the meeting fixed at 3 pm at the ZAO in Mapusa.
In Quepem too, the meeting is fixed in the morning the same day at 10 am at the Quepem Municipal hall and in Sanguem it will be at 10 am also in the Municipal Hall.
For Salcete, the public meeting to elicit views and suggestions on the proposed draft agriculture policy will be held on October 27 at 10 am at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Margao while in Pernem it will be held on October 30 at 10 am at the ZAO's office.
The move of the agriculture department to hold public meetings across all talukas comes after its effort to get panchayats to discuss the policy and come up with suggestions at the special gram sabhas on October 2 did not evoke the desired response.
Many of the gram sabhas did not discuss the policy at all and in some cases it was carried out as a formality in the agenda.
