Food parks to be set up in Meghalaya, Sikkim: Union minister

Union minister Rameshwar Teli said on Friday that the Food Processing Ministry will be setting up food parks in Meghalaya and Sikkim. A similar park has been sanctioned for Arunachal Pradesh, he said.

Speaking at the North East Food Innovation Exhibition here, the Union Minister of State for Food Processing said that currently these two states in the North East are yet to have food parks. "For 2020, the ministry has a budget of Rs 1,100 crore for the North East region. Food parks for Meghalaya and Sikkim will be set up soon. All states in the North East should have a food park by the end of my term," Teli said.

He said the Government of India had recently sanctioned money for setting up of a food park in Arunachal Pradesh. According to the Union minister of state, the Food Processing Ministry has a budget of Rs 8,000 crore of which 10 per cent is mandatory for utilisation in the North East region.

"We have not used the funds. After taking over this ministry, I am trying very hard to push funds for NE," he said. The Union minister said that although the mega food parks require about 50 acres of land, for North East, 20 to 30 acres of land will be required for setting up mini food parks.

"About 75 per cent subsidy will be borne by the Centre. The remaining amount will be borne by the states," he said. The Union minister also informed that the Government of India is planning to set up an institute like IIT in Guwahati, for food related researches, adding, there is high demand for food products of Northeastern states such as Bhot Jalakiya (king chilli) and black rice and therefore there is huge business potential for the food industry in this region.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prema Khandu, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Sikkim Minister B S Pant appreciated the Meghalaya government for organising the event and highlighted the initiatives taken by their respective governments for promotion of food industries in their states. Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma during the closing ceremony of the exhibition on Friday said that this event was a structured beginning of a mission to promote and upscale the food economy and markets of the region.

He also mentioned that this will be a regular calendar event for Meghalaya and next time it will be held on 26th to 28th November, 2020. Various food innovation/processing groups and entrepreneurs of NE India participated during the three-day long exhibition and showcased their products, packages and innovations..

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