In addition to the 10 on-going mega food park projects approved in the 1st phase, the government has given nod for the establishment of 5 new mega food parks in the second phase under the Scheme for Infrastructure Development. This was informed by minister of state for food processing industries Harish Rawat in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
For these parks, Expression of Interest (EoI) have been invited from 10 states, viz., Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Tripura.
These proposals were under appraisal by a multi-skilled professional agency which had been appointed as Programme Management Agency (PMA).
As per the laid down procedure, the merit of these proposals were required to be evaluated by a Technical Committee (TC). On the recommendation of the TC, inter-ministerial approval committee would select the most suitable proposal for granting “In-principle†approval.
The mega food park project aimed at enhancing farmers’ income significantly. Each park was expected to benefit around 6000 farmers/producers directly and about 25000-30000 farmers indirectly.