Innovation/ Initiatives at Directorate of Horticulture & Plantation Crops, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Commissioner (2011-12-28 to 2013-02-19) - 1 years, 1 months, 22 days

  1. Cyclone Thane: No sooner had I taken charge on 28/12/2011, than, Cyclone “Thane” hit Tamil Nadu on 30.12.2011 causing extensive damage to Horticulture crops to an extent of 48040.90 ha in the districts of Cuddalore, Villupuram, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Kancheepuram, Vellore, Tiruvannamalai, Erode, Dharmapuri, Ariyalur and Salem.  Immediately I plunged into the job of identifying the affected farmers so that immediate relief could be provided to them. Extensive field visits by my teams and me to Cuddalore and Villupuram districts ensured that a comprehensive proposal was prepared for the long-term rehabilitation of farmers affected by the cyclone, especially cashew farmers. Based on this proposal, the Hon’ble Chief Minister announced a Special Package for rehabilitation of the affected farmers in the Assembly as 110 statement in the Assembly to the tune of Rs.100.00 crores.
  1. I took immediate steps to implement the dormant scheme of National Vegetable Initiative, by reviving the MoU signed with a private partner, and established the first retail outlet in the premises of Secretariat. This scheme aims at ensuring continuous supply of vegetables to the burgeoning urban markets by creating forward linkages from rural to urban areas.  This will also ensure assured income to farmers in the rural areas adjoining cities.  This is also as per the Government Orders issued in this regard.
  1. I have taken intense personal efforts, to put in place an action plan that would transform the Directorate of Horticulture & Plantation Crops into a dynamic Directorate in the Government of Tamil Nadu, using the tools of Information Technology, so that it may set the standards for good Governance practices. The Hon’ble Chief Minister launched all the 15 projects on e-Governance on 15/10/2012. All the initiatives have made the Directorate of Horticulture & Plantation Crops a model e-Governed office in the Country.
  1. Mobile Governance using geo-fencing technology: We have implemented this technology in the Directorate of Horticulture & Plantation Crops in remotely inspecting installation of micro irrigation systems, works in our parks, farms, gardens etc. Tamil Nadu is the only state in the country giving 100% subsidy for micro irrigation to small and marginal farmers and 75% subsidy to other farmers. So it involves a huge amount of money, and necessarily needs 100 % inspection before release of subsidy. Currently, the administration of this subsidy is very difficult, with the Collector insisting on 100% field inspection by his team, even though this has been 100% inspected by our ADH and 25% by the DDH. The apprehensions of Collectors as Chairman of the DMIC is also not misplaced as there haves been instances of :
    1. No installation, but bill being passed cases very rarely.
    2. One installation, and multiple bills taken, again very rarely.
    3. The MI system being sold off by the small and marginal farmer in rare cases, putting our officials in a serious situation viz.a.viz audit etc..

m-Governance allows us complete control over the installation of micro irrigation systems (about 50,000 nos) and all works that we undertake in our parks and gardens across Tamil Nadu. it is a completely cloud based model that allows us to Geo-fence (Geo-fencing is done by taking latitude and longitude with reference to the satellite coordinates by using an application installed in the mobile phone equipped with GPS capabilities) all the micro irrigation systems. This work is being outsourced to a third party, such that when the third party in the field takes a photo of a micro irrigation system or any work place which has been Geo-fenced, using a mobile phone installed with a software, he is able to lock on the Geo-fenced area when he comes 3 to 5 meters near and then clicks the photo. The photo does not remain in the mobile. (The photo, which is about 1Mb in size, is compressed to 5 kb by a Danish compression technology which allows transfer of the photo to the server in micro seconds.) The photo with the time stamp and full details of the farmer field is transmitted to the server and anybody can visualize these pictures by visiting our website. This can prevent duplication or multiplication of bills by taking different photos of one field and claiming multiple bills, give us evidence of installation where after sometime the beneficiary has sold the equipment etc, as has a happened in a few cases.

  1. Roof top gardening: Initiated a scheme for encouraging citizens of Chennai to take up roof top gardening through a Public Private Partnership initiative. The proposal involved first identifying private nurseries who could be empanelled to supply inputs to the general public. Three packages of Rs.5000, Rs.10,000, and Rs.15,000 were proposed for people to have their choice of the package depending on their economic situation. The proposal of was free of subsidy. This proposal was approved by Government with major modifications and has since become a resounding success.
  1. Best Display award was given to the Tamil Nadu pavilion at “7th International Flora expo 2012’’, a prestigious annual event held in March 2012, because I took personal efforts in designing the Tamil Nadu Pavilion.
  1. Created a beautiful garden in front of the Agricultural Complex at Chepauk, as soon as I joined as Commissioner of Horticulture.
  1. Eco Parks: Took up and completed all the 7 eco parks at a cost pf Rs.70 crores that my predecessor Dr.Chandramohan IAS had envisioned, tendered for, but work not commenced 7 months after the new Government too over. My immediate predecessor Mr.Sellamuthu IAS had not evinced interest in taking up the projects.
  1. e-Governance projects
e-Governance initiatives in Horticulture Department
m – Governance for National Mission on Micro Irrigation at village level
Provision of Computers and accessories for Commissionerate staff.
Computerization in all State Horticulture Farms
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) at Commissionerate of Horticulture.
Creation of Horticulture Web Portal www.tnhorticulture.tn.gov.in
Provision of Video Conferencing facilities at Commissionerate of Horticulture
Provision of Wi Fi Connectivity at Commissionerate of Horticulture
Installation of Tally Software at Commissionerate of Horticulture and in all district Head quarters
Provision of Net working with 2 MBPS Dedicated Internet Leased Line
Provision of EPABX system at Commissionerate of Horticulture
Biometric Attendance System at Commissionerate of Horticulture
  1. Due to my zeal and diligence, I could kick-start many projects, which had not commenced implementation despite being cleared either by Government or by the Governing Council of TANHODA, and the same, could be completed and inaugurated/launched by the Hon’ble Chief Minister. The Hon’ble Chief Minister also launched many projects which were my brainchild and highly innovative like m-Governance, e-Governance initiatives, launch of Coffee Table Book, monthly magazine on Horticulture etc.
  1. Brought the Indo-Israel projects to Tamil Nadu. One for vegetables at Reddiyarchthram in Dindigul district and for cut flowers at Thally in Krishnagiri district.

Projects inaugurated/launched by the Hon’ble Chief Minister on 15/10/2012

S.No Name of the Project Project Cost (Rs. in Lakhs)
A. Projects Inaugurated
1 Creation of ECO Park at Courtallam in Tirunelveli District 573.00
2 Improvement works at Bryant Park, Anna Park and Chettiyar Park at Kodaikanal in Dindigul District 113.00
3 Creation of Government Botanical Garden at Yercaud in Salem District 745.00
4 Creation of Genetic Heritage Garden at Yercaud in Salem District 816.00
B. Projects commenced
5 Creation of Rose Garden and Cut Flower Demonstration Unit at State Horticulture Farm, Kodaikanal, Dindigul district 350.00
6 Creation of ECO Park at State Horticulture Farm, Kanyakumari in Kanyakumari district 400.00
7 Development of Infrastructure facilities at Horticulture Training Centre, Thally in Krishnagiri District 200.00
C. Projects launched
8 Modernization of State Horticulture Farms and increasing the efficacy in use of farm land 1423.32
9 Indo Israel Project- Centre of Excellence for Vegetables in Dindigul district 1018.00
10 Indo Israel Project- Centre of Excellence for Cut Flowers in Krishnagiri district 880.00
11 e-Governance initiatives in Horticulture Department
I m – Governance for National Mission on Micro Irrigation at village level 200.00
Ii Provision of Computers and accessories for Commissionerate staff. 27.77
Iii Computerization in all State Horticulture Farms 23.22
Iv Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) at Commissionerate of Horticulture. 15.00
V Creation of Horticulture Web Portal www.tnhorticulture.tn.gov.in 11.00
vi Provision of Video Conferencing facilities at Commissionerate of Horticulture 13.30
vii Provision of Wi Fi Connectivity at Commissionerate of Horticulture 4.74
viii Installation of Tally Software at Commissionerate of Horticulture and in all district Head quarters 4.28
Ix Provision of Net working with 2 MBPS Dedicated Internet Leased Line 1.20
X Provision of EPABX system at Commissionerate of Horticulture 3.34
xi Biometric Attendance System at Commissionerate of Horticulture 0.15
D Release of Publications
12 Horticulture Monthly News Letter – EnHAaNS (Ensuring Ambience and Nutritional Security through Horticulture) 2.00
13 Coffee Table Book on Horticulture Department 5.00
Total 6829.32