Agriculture Minister Bharne directs vacant posts at Mul agriculture college be filled this month

Mumbai: Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharne has directed the department concerned to fill the vacant posts at the agriculture college in Mul, Chandrapur district, this month. MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar has been pursuing the college's development consistently, and has now received a concrete response from the administration.

The college is short of staff, many development works are stalled and questions related to teaching and research remain unresolved. To get quick action on these, an important meeting was held at Mantralaya in the presence of the agriculture minister, on Mungantiwar's initiative. The meeting held a detailed and positive discussion on several issues, including recruitment to the posts and the overall development of the college.

Agriculture department secretary Parimal Singh, Agricultural Prices Commission member Bandu Gaurkar and senior agriculture department officials were present.

Mungantiwar stressed at the meeting that essential posts at the Mul agriculture college have been vacant for a long time, causing difficulties in teaching, office work and research. He said staff are necessary for students to get good education and for the college's research strength to grow. He clearly demanded that recruitment be done this month. Keeping this in mind, Bharne directed the department to act immediately.

Mungantiwar also raised several other issues. These included regularising officers and employees who have served on contract for a long time, the stalled matter of forest land linked to the college, and implementing the staffing structure (aakritibandh) of the agriculture university. The meeting also discussed the administrative action needed to reach positive solutions on these. The matter was thus not limited to recruitment; issues that would strengthen the college as an institution also came up. Bharne gave instructions to the concerned officials on all of these issues.

Mungantiwar also raised, as a priority, the issue of releasing the stalled funds for the vegetable research centre at Ekarjuna. He said the centre needs to be made more capable so that research in vegetable production is carried out, modern technology is used and farmers benefit directly.

He also demanded effective SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for agricultural exhibitions, based on organic farming and modern agricultural technology. Saying that finding a market for farmers' produce is as important an aspect of agricultural development, he put forward the thinking that "one should grow what sells". His position was that farmers should be enabled not just at the level of production but from production to the market. He stressed building an effective system that links agricultural education, research, modern technology and the market to raise farmers' incomes.

The focus of Mungantiwar's efforts is that the Mul agriculture college should not remain merely a degree-granting institution, but become an effective centre of good agricultural education, cutting-edge research, new technology and knowledge of direct use to farmers. He said that along with buildings and basic facilities, the college should get the necessary staff, research resources and institutional capacity. He also made clear on the occasion that this pursuit will continue until the college reaches the desired heights.