Production Cluster of the State:-

Delhi has five Community Development Blocks comprising 209 villages, of which, 199 villages are inhabited while the remaining 10 villages are uninhabited. Nowadays about half of the NCR area is urban. The rural area of the NCR is divided into five Rural Development Blocks: Alipur (north), Kanjhawla (northwest), Najafgarh (southwest), Mehrauli (south), and Shahdara (east). Out of a total area of 1,47,448 ha, the net sown area is 48,357 ha, diara land 7,000 ha, fallow land 12,886 ha, and cultivable wasteland 10,850 ha. In addition, NCR Delhi has 74,248 ha non-agricultural land, 11,708 ha another uncultivated land, 1,561 ha forest land, 1,267 ha under tree crops and grooves. The total percentage of agricultural land comes to 41.7 percent, 35 percent of the total agricultural land is under vegetable cultivation. The annual collection of vegetables from Delhi farms is around 22 lakh tonnes. This is from around the periphery of the city from where menfolk commute daily to the city and women attend to the needs of peri-urban vegetable cultivation.

Delhi, having an ever-increasing consumer population, requires extra procurement of horticultural produce, particularly vegetables from neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. The present-day production of around seven lakh tonnes of vegetables is not sufficient and, as such, intensive vegetable cultivation on available land, on scientific lines, using latest technologies, should be adopted/promoted. Further, additional land, including diara land, has to be reclaimed and brought under vegetable cultivation. Efforts have to be made on reducing post-harvest losses and utilising/avoiding market gluts, improvement in product management and utilisation strategy, including processing and systematic marketing. Improved marketing information system has also to be developed. Important vegetable crops which hold promise in cultivation are onion, bhindi, chilli, bitter gourd, tomato, potato, brinjal, cauliflower, peas, bottle gourd and cucumber. The thrusts have to be decided for programmes on a long term and short-term basis. In addition, some medicinal and aromatic plants also need promotion in cultivation for use in the therapeutic and pharmaceutical industry.

• Delhi is the capital of India and one of the most developed cities in the nation with highly developed connectivity through major air routes globally
• Delhi has an urbanization rate of 97.5% and the seventh busiest metro network in the world
• National Capital Region (NCR) is India’s biggest milk market and the milk market in the region, estimated at 5 mn liters per day, is growing at 6-8 percent annually