Odisha seeks time to comply with query on Huma food park

The state government has sought three weeks' time to comply with the additional information sought by the Centre for giving approval to Huma Coastal Mega Food Park, whose earlier clearance was cancelled in February last year.

The promoters of mega food park had applied afresh against the expression of interest (EOI) bids invited by the Union food processing ministry for establishment of new mega food parks under the amended guidelines for such projects. "The Government of India has sought some more information on the project. We have intimated the promoters of the food park to comply with it within three weeks. We have requested the Centre simultaneously to allow us three weeks for compliance. The queries sought by the Centre includes certain clarifications on land, among others," said an MSME department official.

Earlier, the state government had requested the Centre to consider the bid of the promoters of the food park favourably and grant it approval so that work can be started on the project, which is key to promotion of food processing industries in the state.

The park was earlier accorded in-principle approval by MoFPI on September 21, 2012 under the Mega Food Parks Scheme. However, despite several time extensions of the approval, the SPV created to implement the project, Huma Coastal Mega Food Park Pvt Ltd, could not meet the prescribed conditions for the final approval.

The Inter Ministerial Approval Committee, in a meeting on February 11, 2014, had withdrawn its consent after reviewing the status of compliances achieved by the SPV. MoFPI, in a letter to the state government later, had said, the project SPV can seek fresh approval under the new guidelines of mega food park scheme. Recently, the Centre has accorded its nod for a sea food park proposed on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar city under the Mega Food Park Scheme of the Government of India.