Harsimrat asks CM to grant approvals for Punjab food park

Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to instruct authorities to grant necessary approvals to the Kapurthala mega food park.
The food park is to come up in Kapurthala district for promoting maize processing so as to help farmers diversify from the wheat-paddy cycle.
In a letter to the chief minister, Badal said "delays" in grant of approvals by the various state departments had delayed start of the project which was to be completed within 30 months of being approved by her ministry.
The project was approved by the central ministry in November. She said in case concerned authorities did not expedite the necessary clearances the food ministry would be constrained to initiate action for cancellation of the project.

Badal said Sukhjit Mega Food Park at Rehana Jattan village in Kapurthala was proposed to be set up with an investment of Rs 105 crore.
She said the project included a maize processing anchor unit and was likely to attract other such units also.

"This will act as an impetus to farmers to grow maize on a large scale in the district and will help them to diversify besides improving the water table in the area," she said.
She said due to sustained efforts of the food processing ministry, the central ground water authority had granted exemption to food parks/agro-based industries, including the mega food park, from application of notifications regarding ground water extraction.

Union minister said during a recent review of the progress of implementation of the mega good park project, it was informed that the unit was held up for want of grant of statutory clearances by the concerned state authorities.
These, she said, included consent to establish by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion.
Exemption by Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995 (PAPRA) as well as approval of lay out and zoning plan by the chief town planner, Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) is also pending, she added.
Stating that mega parks were infrastructure projects which were capital intensive and had far reaching socio- economic impact in and around the area of their location, Badal said all efforts should be made to not lose such a prestigious project.