Agriculture department’s nod must for nurseries, civic bodies told

PANAJI: Plant nurseries will have to compulsorily produce the agriculture department’s approval before seeking permission to operate from civic bodies.
With an increasing number of nurseries reportedly functioning sans licences, the department had recently directed vendors to display licence details at their place of operation. However, some nursery owners have argued that they had “necessary permissions” from their respective panchayats.

“We have come across a few such cases, but there is a possibility of there being more.As a preemptive measure, we have written to the director of panchayats and the director of municipal administration to instruct the local bodies under them not to issue permissions or grant NOCs to plant nurseries who fail to produce a licence from us first,” agriculture director Nelson Figueiredo, said.
Sources from the department informed that trade licences granted by the civic bodies gives plant nursery operators blanket permission to operate.
“However, the civic bodies fail to understand that it being the domain of the agriculture department, they should first ask the zonal agricultural officers in their respective talukas about the legalities of allowing such nurseries to operate,” an agriculture official said.
In addition to writing a letter to the heads of the civic bodies, department officials have also asked zonal agricultural officers (ZAO) to provide feedback of the existing nurseries in their jurisdiction. The department had earlier issued a public notice that all vendors must install a board furnishing licence details by mid-February.
“Based on the notice, vendors have to click a picture of the board installed and submit it to their respective ZAO via WhatsApp. Based on this, we will make a list of those who have complied, and check if they are following the rules laid down as per the Goa Fruit and Ornamental Nurseries (Regulation) Act, 1998,” the official said.
A draft amendment has been prepared, which imposes heavy penalty on those running nurseries illegally.