States Dragging Feet Over Food Park Funds

The funds allocated by the central government for setting up food parks in the states are going abegging. This was revealed by food processing minister, Chaman Lal Gupta, today at the meeting of the state nodal agencies for promoting food processing. Even the funds already released to the states have not been gainfully utilised though the current fiscal will be over in less than three months.

The minister said the first instalment of the funds released for 22 food parks in different states had not been fully utilised yet. This was leading to delay in the release of second instalment, he said.

Food parks have been conceived as infrastructure hubs for providing common facilities to small and medium enterprises in the food processing sector.

These parks are supposed to follow one of the two identified patterns -- cluster of industries located in one selected location of an industrial estate or the location of common facilities, along with nursery for raising appropriate planting materiel, in a state farm and the processing units dispersed around this within a radius of 20 to 30 km. The latter is known popularly as the Punjab model.

Gupta said the states should develop commodity-differentiated strategies in areas where they had comparative advantage so that the entire food chain, from farm to consumers within the country and abroad, is covered.

The core strength of each state, whether in a fruit or a vegetable or other agro-product, needed to be identified and suitably exploited, he added.

The food processing ministry could assist in commissioning studies for such commodity-based processing ventures and food parks. The agri-export zones could also be set up around these centres, he added.

The food processing secretary, D K Tripathi, reviewed the projects already approved by the ministry. Such a review would help in formulating the food processing strategy for the 10th Plan. Discussions with the Planning Commission on this issue are scheduled to begin soon.

Tripathi revealed that a committee, headed by a joint secretary, has been set up to look into various state-level excise policies applicable to the food processing sector.

The representatives of the states suggested that wine production should be promoted as it could help utilise several fruits grown in the temperate regions.