Ranchi, Feb. 15: Union Food Processing and Industry Minister Harsimrat Singh Kaur Badal and Chief Minister Raghubar Das jointly inaugurated a Mega Food Park at Getalsood.
On this occasion, the Union Minister praised the works done by the Jharkhand government. She said that the food park will create scope for employment and the farmers will get the right price of their yields. She said that the center is ready to extend every possible help to the state.
The mega food park has been set up with the project cost of Rs 114.73 crore in an area of 51.50 acres. The park will have facilities of multi chamber cold storage, dry warehouse, vegetable dehydration line, modern quality control and testing laboratory and other processing facilities for fruits and vegetables.
The minister expressed confidence that this project will create a modern infrastructure for arresting post-harvest losses of horticultural and non-horticultural produce and provide impetus to the growth of food processing sector in Jharkhand.
“This food park project will help in providing better prices to farmers, reduce wastage of perishables, add value to agricultural produce and create huge opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment for the youth of the state,”said Badal.
Addressing the people, the CM said that the state government will construct Mega Food Parks in Bokaro, Hazaribag and Sahebganj also. There is positive condition of investment in the state. He assured the investors that they will be provided all amenities.
He said that the government has made food processing policy and has conducted Investor Meet. MoU worth more than Rs 800 core has been signed and foundation stone for one of them has been laid recently.
More processing plants will be installed. He said that Jharkhand Investor Summit is scheduled on February 17in the ‘Make In India Week’ in Mumbai.
The CM said that the state can develop through agriculture and the government is going to present the agriculture budget separately. He said that local people and farmers will be benefited with the park. The local unemployed people will be skilled and benefitted with it.
The food park will benefit the people of Ranchi district and people of nearby districts of Lohardaga, Gumla, Ramgarh, Garhwa, Koderma, and Hazaribagh other places in the state too.
This park has a central processing centre (CPC) at Ranchi and six primary processing centres (PPCs) are being set up at Lohardaga, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Belchampa, Domchach and Patratu to provide strong backward linkages.
The park is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to about 6000 people and benefit about 25,000-30,000 farmers in its catchment area.
Union Minister for State for Food Processing and Industry Sadhwi Niranjan Jyoti and Acharya Balkrishn of Patanjali also addressed the people on this occasion.
State RDD Minister Nilkanth Singh Munda , HRD Minister Mrs. Neera Yadav, Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, MLAs Ram Kumar Pahan, Biranchi Narayan and Ranchi Mayor Asha Lakra were present on this occasion.