SHILLONG, Feb 26: Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Rameswar Teli, has said that the work on Meghalaya’s first food park at Mendipathar in West Garo Hills will start soon.
Informing that a mega food park requires land measuring around 50 acres, the minister said that the Rs 65.29-crore Mega Food Park will be sanctioned soon.
He further informed that Meghalaya government will operate the proposed mega food park even as he mentioned that usually a private party operates such food parks.
In December last year, the proposal for the food park project in Meghalaya was approved by the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee. Under the project, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries would extend about 75 per cent subsidy, and the remaining 25 per cent of the amount will be borne by the Meghalaya government. Hence, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries would extend a grant of Rs 48.43 crore while the remaining amount will be mobilised by the state government.
The Ministry has an annual budget of Rs 8,000 crore, of which, 10 per cent is mandatory for utilisation in the eight Northeastern states. In addition to Meghalaya, food parks will also be set up in Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has already sanctioned money for setting up of the mega food park in Arunachal Pradesh.
In addition, he said the Ministry will give additional Rs 13 crore for setting up of two more units in Ri Bhoi.
Stating that Meghalaya will get 1,000 units out of two lakh units which will be set up across the country under the Atmanirbhar scheme, Teli said the state will get as many as Rs 47 crore in five years under the central scheme.