Apples Rot, Officials Sleep: HPMC Turns Farmer’s Lifeline Into Junkyard
Shimla: Over 10,000 metric tonnes of apples bought under the government’s Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) are lying in heaps, rotting on roadsides at Kotkhai, Kalbog and other centres like Pabaas where 3500 bags are rotting in Chopal, Rohru, Jubbal and Kotkhai in the Shimla apple belt.
The farmers said HPMC has given long rope to transporters mainly from Darlaghat who have not lifted not even a single bag of the procured apple so far.
The very agency meant to save farmers from distress sales – HPMC – has become a symbol of apathy, corruption and back-room deals.
HPMC procures culled fruit at ₹12 a kilo, but instead of processing it, officials quietly auctioned truckloads in Parwanoo at a shocking ₹1.50 a kilo. Over 10,000 MT C Grade fruit entered the market this way, sources said.
Parala processing plant was started from August 10, 30 days late, while Parwanoo started processing from July 29, sources said.
HPMC had a backlog of 9000 MT. Had it been done in time, the markets would have been saved.
The result: farmers got cheated, the exchequer bled, and cheap “C-grade” apples were dumped in UP and Bihar mandis, dragging down the market for everyone.
Worse, HPMC had a contract with a private company to lift this fruit at ₹8 a kilo.
But insiders admit officials sabotaged the deal by accepting a cooked-up claim of 30% wastage, reducing the payout to just ₹5.45 a kilo.
Transporters pulled out, farmers were left stranded, and thousands of tonnes started rotting right where they were procured.
Meanwhile, HPMC’s processing units could handle barely 8,000 MT out of the more than 30,000 MT collected.
The rest is simply piling up in the open, turning into stinking waste – while the MD, GM and Horticulture Secretary look the other way.
Last year HPMC made profits from processing. This year, thanks to official negligence and shady auctions, it is staring at collapse.
Farmers say the so-called “support scheme” has become a scam – enriching middlemen while destroying both prices and produce.
If the state does not act fast to lift, process, and hold its own officials accountable, HPMC may not just lose face – it may lose its very existence.
