Foundation stone laid for Patanjali mega food park

The foundation stone of Patanjali Mega Food and Herbal Park, promoted by yoga guru Ramdev, was laid in Mihan area here today by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.

Spread over 230 acres, the food park will have Patanjali's production units and provide direct employment to 10,000 youths, Ramdev said.

The Patanjali group will give soft loans to farmers in the area for producing various agro products, he said.

The food park will bring prosperity to the farmers of the region which is infamous for number of suicides, said Ramdev's associate Acharya Balkrishna.

Gadkari in his speech assured all necessary help to the Patanjali group, saying their products will get international market soon due to the connectivity in the area. The upcoming dry port in nearby Wardha would help in this regard, he said.

Gadkari also said the state Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and Union MoS for Home, Hansraj Ahir, had assured help in procurement of medicinal herbs from nearby Chandrapur and Gadchiroli forests.

Fadnavis said Patanjali, which was the sole bidder, had successfully bid when global tenders were floated for setting up the food park at Mihan.

The whole process was transparent and Patanjali group got the land or Rs 25 lakh per acre, he said. He invited proposals for setting up units in the remaining 270 acres of the total 500 acres, earmarked for food park.

Other states offered Patanjali free land but it preferred Nagpur, the CM said, adding that it would be the world's largest food park.

Former Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar had alleged here last evening that Patanjali was given the land at a throwaway price when the market price was Rs 60 lakh per acre.

Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) earlier had floated two global tenders (in May and July 2016), but failed to get any bidder.

In the third call, MADC has received Patanjali Ayurved as the technically qualified bidder, the state-run agency had said last month.