(a) whether the Government proposes to set up mega food parks in different parts of the country;
(b) if so, the details alongwith the location thereof, State-wise
(c) whether the Government also provides financial assistance to State Governments for setting up
of food parks in their States; and
(d) if so, the funds provided for the purpose to various State Governments during the last three years?
MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI SUBODH KANT SAHAI)
(a) & (b): In the 11th Plan, the Government has approved a new scheme to establish 30 Mega Food Parks
with a view to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure for food processing sector in the country on a
pre-identified cluster basis with a strong backward and forward linkage and to provide value addition
of agricultural commodities including poultry, meat, dairy, fisheries etc.in a demand driven manner.
The projects are to be implemented, owned, operated and maintained by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
consisting of a group of stakeholders like entrepreneurs, investors, processors, farmer groups, NGOs,
State Govts and/or its undertskings etc. Out of total 30 approved Mega Food Parks, 10 are to be taken
up in the 1st phase in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. Detailed Project Report (DPR) in case of Andhra
Pradesh (Chittoor), Assam (Nalbari), Jharkhand (Ranchi) and Uttarakhand (Haridwar) has been approved and
1st tranche of 1st instalment of grant has been released in these cases.
(c) & (d): Financial assistance is not provided to the State Governments for setting up of Food Parks.
However, State Governments and/or its undertakings may be the partners in the SPV with a stake of less
than 26% to retain the private sector character of the SPV.