Parliament Question: Establishment of Directorate of Agriculture

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4013 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 17TH MARCH, 2026 ESTABLISHMENT OF DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE 4013. SHRI MOHMAD HANEEFA: - Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ(cid:874)ष एव ं(cid:873)कसान क(cid:227)याण म(cid:287)ं ी be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that the Agriculture Department in the Union Territory of Ladakh is presently functioning without a full-time Director, being the Head of the Department; (b) whether, since the creation of the UT, any proposal has been received or examined for establishing a full-fledged Directorate of Agriculture in Ladakh to provide effective administrative leadership and policy direction; (c) whether the Government acknowledges that the absence of a dedicated Directorate has impacted planning, monitoring, implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and inter-district coordination in the agriculture sector where more than 80 percent of Ladakh's population is directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture and allied activities; and (d) the steps proposed to establish a full-fledged Directorate of Agriculture in Ladakh to strengthen institutional capacity and sector-specific strategy formulation? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं िकसान क(cid:670)ाण रा(cid:475) मं(cid:361)ी (SHRI BHAGIRATH CHOUDHARY) Horticulture & Agriculture Department of Union Territory of Ladakh has informed that: (a): There is no post of Director in the Department of Agriculture, Union Territory of Ladakh, but the Department has been allocated one post of Joint Director, Agriculture, who is functioning as Head of the Department (HoD), in the Union Territory, discharging all the powers/functions. (b): The post of Director was not allocated to the Agriculture Department, Union Territory of Ladakh during the reorganization of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories. Post reorganization, during the establishment of various Directorates in the Union Territory of Ladakh, among other proposals, the proposal for establishing Directorate of Agriculture was also examined, pursuant to which, one post of Joint Director, Agriculture has been allocated, to function as HoD in Agriculture Department. (c) & (d): The Joint Director, Agriculture, being the HoD exercises all the powers/functions and there has been no evident impact on planning, monitoring, implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and inter-district coordination in the agriculture sector. *****