Govt takes serious note of premature apple fruit fall, orders probe, FIR registered: Javid

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Sept 30: The Government has taken serious cognizance of premature and extraordinary fruit fall reported in apple orchards of Zainapora and other areas of Shopian district and certain areas of Anantnag district.

This was stated by Minister for Agriculture Production, Javid Ahmad Dar, while replying to a Calling Attention Notice raised by MLA Showkat Hussain Ganai regarding premature fruit fall in orchards of Zainapora.

The Minister said the issue has caused substantial losses and hardship to fruit growers. He informed that a Joint Enquiry Committee comprising Director Horticulture Kashmir and Director Law Enforcement, J&K, has been constituted to examine the matter from scientific, regulatory, enforcement and crop-damage perspectives. The Committee submitted its status report to the Government on September 21, 2026 while the complete report is awaited.

The Minister said the extent of fruit fall in several orchards increased progressively from around 30 percent during the initial inspection to nearly 70 percent during the second visit and close to 90 percent in certain cases during the third visit. Simultaneously, the Law Enforcement Wing of the Agriculture Department undertook verification of the manufacture, distribution and sale of the product. Twelve licensed dealers dealing with Batch No. SP-1902 were identified while 238 kilograms of the said batch were seized in District Shopian.

The enquiry, he said, has revealed serious discrepancies concerning regulatory particulars and provenance of the batch. Discrepancies were noticed in the QR code, registration number, manufacturing licence particulars, approved label, manufacturing date and Certificate of Analysis (COA).

Javid Dar informed the House that the QR code printed on the package reportedly corresponded to a different registered entity besides discrepancies in manufacturing licence particulars and other regulatory documents.

"Legal and police action has already been initiated. Proceedings under the Insecticides Act, 1968 and the Insecticides Rules, 1971 are underway in connection with the alleged misbranding. In view of discrepancies relating the identity of the manufacturer, registration, licence, label and other regulatory particulars, the matter was also referred for police investigation. Accordingly, FIR No. 0200 dated September 23, 2026 has been registered at Police Station Shopian against the suspected persons. The investigation will establish the actual source of manufacture and packaging of the batch, trace its supply chain and determine responsibility in accordance with law," said the Minister.