The Jharkhand state minister for animal husbandry and fisheries, Mannan Mallik, has said that no proper infrastructure has been developed for boosting poultry farming, fisheries and cattle development here since the formation of the state in 2000, reports Times of India. Speaking at a press conference in Hazaribagh, he continued that, in view of this, he is willing to give animal husbandry the necessary push.
After the feed scam, the ministers of Jharkhand were too scared to do anything to develop infrastructure, according to the newspaper. He alleged despite a good prospect for fishery development and providing employment to locals, residents have to depend on fish from Andhra Pradesh, which has flooded the market.
He added: "Similar was the case with poultry farming as people of Jharkhand still have to depend on the eggs and poultry products supplied by Andhra Pradesh, which is minting money at the cost of poor tribals and tribal farmers of the state."
Holding the previous state governments responsible for the current state of affairs, he said that in the current financial year, 2.05 billion rupees (INR) had been earmarked for the development of animal husbandry, poultry and fisheries, of which only INR350 million had been spent during the first six months of the year. He added that INR680 million has been spent on the salaries of employees manning the department.
According to Times of India, the minister added that, after assessing the situation, he plans to develop the infrastructure on boosting production in poultry and fishery sector so that people of the State can consume these products instead of using the Andhra Pradesh products.
