The Centre has decided to appoint a post-entry quarantine (PEQ) inspection authority in north Bengal to issue certificates for use of plants imported in the region.

Floriculture and horticulture are thriving businesses in the hills which export orchids.

Darjeeling MP Raju Bista, in a written statement, said that he had received information from Union minister of agriculture and farmer welfare Narendra Singh Tomar regarding approval for the PEQ inspection authority in north Bengal.

Bista wrote that on Wednesday he received a letter and gazette notification from Tomar informing him (Bista) that “the proposal was considered and it was decided for the addition of Head, Division of Plant Pathology, Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya Cooch Behar, as the PEQ Inspection Authority, which is located in North Bengal”.

Post-entry quarantine centres provide permission for the import of planting materials of coarse cereals, oil seeds, pulses, fodder and fruit plants and clearances to plant the same following inspection on various parameters such as the presence of exotic pests, diseases, among others.

The only post-entry quarantine facility in Bengal is currently in Nadia. “Farmers from north Bengal were forced to travel almost 600km for any minor work relating to inspection and certification for plants brought from outside the country,” said Bista, adding he highlighted this issue before the ministry in September.

“I am most hopeful that once the PEQ authority is set up in north Bengal, it will go a long way in enabling our farmers to import and export top quality agricultural produce from our region in a hassle-free way,” said Bista.