Chhattisgarh eyes Rs 1,000 cr investment in electronics, food parks

Electronic manufacturing cluster is coming up in Naya Raipur, food park is being set up in Dhamtari

Mineral-rich Chhattisgarh state is eyeing an investment of Rs 1,000 crore in the proposed food park and electronic manufacturing cluster. Both the sectors are likely to draw an investment of Rs 500 crore each, Governor Balram Das Tandon said in his customary speech on the first day of Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha’s budget session that started on Monday. The electronic manufacturing cluster is coming up in Naya Raipur while the food park is being set up in Dhamtari.

Tandon said the proposed plastic park in Rajnandgaon district was likely to attract an investment of Rs 300 crore. “It is a matter of great pride for the state that Prime Minister appreciated the initiatives taken by the state government in implementing the District Mineral Fund (DMF) policy,” he said. Governor read only two paragraphs of his speech that was tabled in the House.

Last year, the state government provided Rs 194 crore from the DMF to the panchayat and civic bodies for local area development as part of the policy it had designed, Governor said. Action plans with an estimated cost of Rs 2,400 crore had been designed for different mining affected districts, he said, adding that the DMF would be used in the execution of rail corridors in the state.

The state government was serious to achieve the target of increasing farmer’s income to two-fold by 2022. The number of farmers availing interest-free farm loan had crossed one million, he said. For the first time, over Rs 3,000 crore farm loan was disbursed that was a major achievement, he added.