Spatial Analysis on the provision of Urban Amenities and their Deficiencies - A Case Study of Srinagar City, Jammu and Kashmir, India

The paper examined inequality in the distribution of urban amenities in Srinagar City. Inequality in the study area is manifested in the form of unequal provision of social amenities within the wards (municipal units) of the City. The spatial distribution and concentration of two social amenities, viz, educational institutions and fire service stations was studied. The study mainly relied on the secondary sources of data. The Z-score variate has been used to determine the spatial concentration pattern in the provision of these amenities. However, Lorenz Curve proved to be a useful tool in accessing and quantifying the spatial disparity. The results of the analysis indicate that inequalities exist in the provision of accessibility of these amenities among different wards in Srinagar city. The reasons for the uneven distribution of urban amenities are spurt urban growth in the last three decades and poor management planning. The paper suggests that planning body must keep pace with the urban sprawl in order to ensure the equitable distribution of urban amenities in the city. Keywords: Amenities, Wards, Srinagar City, Well-being, Accessibility, Lorenz Curv

Evaluation Criteria for the Suitability of Apple Cultivation in Kashmir Valley, India

The study aims to provide viable criteria to assess land suitability for apple growing in Kashmir Valley, India. It used a Delphi survey and the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) approach to determine factors influencing apple production. The evaluation criteria were obtained through multiple rounds of the Delphi survey of stakeholders. The Delphi outcome was extended to enable prioritization of the criteria, using a pair-wise comparison process. Results show that experts value physical and economic considerations (accounting for 87% of the overall weight) more than social factors. Furthermore, location-specific factors (i.e., cost-benefit ratio and landholding size) have significant bearings on land suitability for apple in the study area. The Delphi-AHP method proved to be useful as it incorporated core issues of agricultural land use by creating a common framework for suitability evaluation and eliminated uncertainties in the decision-making process

Economic and Profitability Analysis of Walnut Production in Kashmir Valley, India

The Jammu and Kashmir union territory is the largest producer of walnuts in India, and this crop provides an important source of livelihood for many farmers. This study aims to measure the economic efficiency and profitability of walnut orchards and explore constraints in cultivation in the Kashmir Valley. It relies on a crosssectional database collected from 240 walnut growers in the study area during the 2018/19 production period. Results reveal that walnut cultivation is highly labor-intensive as it incurs 80 percent of total production costs. The cost-benefit ratio of 1:5.35 per hectare indicates better economic prospects for the walnut industry in Kashmir Valley. The factors affecting productivity include farmyard manure, labor, chemical fertilizers, plant density, women participation, and information. The regression coefficients of production analysis, marginal value product, and marginal factor cost ratio indicate that there is ample scope for the expansion of walnut cultivation in the research area. However, walnut growers are confronted by several problems that tend to be location specific. The study calls for policy intervention concerning improved access to extension services, credit, and farmer training programs to boost walnut production in the study region