The Punjab government today said that the proposal to establish a permanent cargo terminal at Amritsar International Airport has been sent to Airports Authority of India.
The government would provide land for the expansion of the existing temporary cargo terminal into a permanent one, Punjab Agriculture Minister Tota Singh said today.
"The Punjab government has also prepared a proposal for establishing ultra-modern permanent cargo terminal at International Airport Chandigarh," he said, according to an official release.
He further said the Punjab government would be forwarding to the Centre its comprehensives plan regarding starting of International flights from Punjab so that fruits and vegetables could be exported to other countries.
Singh said crop diversification could be successful in the state if farmers get good value for their produce.
The Minister said international flight from Amritsar to London has been closed due to which export of vegetables has also suffered a lot.
He has also asked the Centre for revival of this flight which could be great support for export of vegetables.
He also said that Centre should provide financial assistance for storage, marketing and transportation facilities of perishable crops to make crop diversification a success in the state.
He said the Punjab government would also submit a detailed report to the Centre to attract farmers towards agriculture diversification that includes marketing strategy, storage and transportation facilities for the diversified crops.
Talking about the "exploitation of farmers by the private companies in the name of contract farming", he said that "these companies backtrack when there is bumper crop production. The Punjab government would make strict laws to check such frauds with the farmers."
He further said the state government has prepared a proposal for establishing a Mega Food Park at Ladowal near Phillaur which would soon be submitted to the Union Food Processing Ministry. He said that total cost of this project would be Rs 130 crore out of which the Centre's contribution would be Rs 50 crore.
