Ladakh LG lays foundation stone for 2 high-altitude flower fields in Leh
Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Monday laid the foundation stone for two high-altitude flower fields in Leh as a major initiative aimed at diversifying the Union Territory’s biodiversity, enhancing farmers’ incomes and creating new livelihood opportunities through floriculture.
The two flower fields at Choglamsar and Stakna in Leh will be the first such high-altitude projects in the country, a spokesperson of Lok Bhavan said.
He said the Choglamsar Park is spread over an area of 92,687 square metres, and the Floriculture Project at the School of Agriculture Science and Technology, University of Ladakh, Stakna, is spread over 1.02 lakh square metres of land.
The Flower Garden at Choglamsar is being developed as one of the largest organised high-altitude floriculture parks in the country and is the first project of its kind in Ladakh. The project assumes special significance as the idea originated during the LG’s visit to the site on April 7, when he had directed that the area be developed as a dedicated floriculture park, the spokesperson said.
He said the Choglamsar flower park will serve as a demonstration and model floriculture centre where high-value flowers such as Lilium, Gladiolus, Tulips and other ornamental species, with strong market demand in national and international markets, will be cultivated.
The garden will also function as a recreational and educational space for residents and tourists alike, the spokesperson said.
Under the project, for the first time, farmers will be trained in floriculture and later on, these fields will be handed over to them for commercial utilisation through the cooperatives.
The floriculture project at Stakna has been conceived as a livelihood-generation and economic-diversification initiative.
The project aims to establish a model floriculture centre for promoting scientific flower cultivation in Ladakh and will focus on producing premium-quality cut flowers for marketing in metropolitan cities and other markets across the country, the spokesperson said.
He said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Department of Agriculture, UT Ladakh, and the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, under which scientific and technical support will be provided for the projects.
The collaboration will facilitate the promotion of scientific floriculture in Ladakh through the introduction of modern technologies, capacity-building programmes, demonstration activities, development of floriculture infrastructure and identification of suitable floriculture crops for Ladakh’s unique climatic conditions.
Talking about the projects, the LG said these represent far more than the cultivation of flowers and mark the beginning of a new vision for Ladakh’s development, combining economic growth with environmental sustainability and tourism promotion.
"These floriculture projects are not merely about growing flowers; they are about creating opportunities, strengthening livelihoods and building a greener and more prosperous future for Ladakh. They will provide our farmers and young entrepreneurs with a new and high-value economic activity while adding a unique dimension to Ladakh’s tourism landscape.
"Equally important, these projects reaffirm our commitment to development that remains in harmony with nature. I am confident that these gardens will emerge as model centres of high-altitude floriculture and give Ladakh a distinct identity in sustainable floriculture, eco-tourism and the green economy," Saxena said.
He said the initiative aims at providing Ladakh’s youth, farmers and entrepreneurs with a new and profitable agricultural alternative and open up avenues for employment and enterprise development in the floriculture sector.
