The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has excluded Bihar from the list of 10 states slated to have mega food parks in the near term. The announcement has dealt a severe blow to the Bihar government, which was expecting the selection of Bhagalpurand Muzaffarpur for the Rs 35,000-crore project.
Meanwhile, MoFPI has selected Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand for the mega project.
Bihar SMEs disappointed
The move to exclude Bihar has disappointed the food processing SMEs in the state who had pinned their hopes on the mega food parks for enhancing their prospects.
“The proposal to establish two mega food parks in the state had been welcomed by the industry players, particularly small and mid-sized ones. However, with the MoFPI excluding Bihar from the list of 10 states where food parks would be set up, small players in the state like us have been left high and dry,” rues Abinash Kumar, proprietor of Puja Food Products, a small-sized food company in Patna.
The MoFPI had earlier announced at a conference that two mega food parks would be established at Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur. Subsequently, the state government had entrusted the Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) with the responsibility of setting up these mega parks. The government had also outlined its food processing policy in December 2008, proposing the development of two mini food parks in the state.
“Bihar’s favourable climatic conditions, fertile land and abundant water resources make it an ideal destination for the promotion of the food processing industry. It is therefore unfortunate that the state has not been included in the list by the union food processing ministry,” opines Prof Virendra Mishra, Head of Department, Agricultural Research at Rajendra Agricultural University, Samastipur, Bihar.
Meanwhile, the state government has earmarked funds for the establishment of two mini food parks in the state. These food parks will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The government has already allotted land at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district for the first phase of the project.
Shubhomita Bose |
