SHIMLA: IN 2014, I started a project in Himachal Pradesh called Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNP) when I was at the Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Solan.

 It was meant to be a great way for farmers to grow crops without spending a lot of money. But it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.

Two key players  the then Governor of Himachal Acharya Devvart and Mr. Palekar, the pioneer of national farming had a lot of questions about whether ZBNP really worked, how it compared to the Green Revolution, and why it was so important.

Their speeches caused a lot of disagreements, and I ended up having a big fight with Mr. Devvart on this due to disagreement, and never worked with him again.

Now, ZBNP is in the hands of Mr. Devvart who took it  to the government of India to replicate in other states as well. 

Other people who used to support it, like Mr. Palekar and Mr. Wazir, have distanced themselves from the project. Recent YouTube videos reveal that they're not happy with each other.

I'm not convinced that ZBNP has really enrolled 1.71 lakh farmers as claimed by the state government.

I asked around in Jubbal and Kotkhai, and Rohru, and it seems like there hasn't been much effort to get farmers involved.

It looks like the government might have inflated the numbers to make it seem like a big success.

What's even more shocking is that they spent a lot of money, about Rs. 8 crores, on training and fancy hotel meetings. This seems like a waste of money and might even involve some financial wrongdoing.

In the end, the ZBNP project I started in Himachal Pradesh has been put on hold by the Congress government.

It started with good intentions but got mixed up in politics and disagreements. The real purpose of ZBNP, which was to help farmers and save money, has been lost, and there are now questions about how the project has been managed.