Harsimrat asks Punjab CM to commission food park by July

Chandigarh, June 28 (IANS) Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to personally intervene and direct the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) to operationalise the Ladhowal mega food park by next month failing which her ministry would be constrained to terminate the project.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Badal said the Ladhowal mega food park in Ludhiana district was taken up for implementation by the PAIC after a grant of Rs 50 crore from the food processing ministry.

She said the park was approved in November 2015 and was slated to be completed in May 2018.

Badal said despite the fact that she had been consistently reviewing the progress of the work there was a complete lack of initiative from the PAIC to stick to mandated schedules which was harming progressive farmers as well as youth who were slated to get employment at the facility.

The Union minister reminded the Chief Minister that she had taken up the issue of timely inauguration and operationalisation of the park with him on numerous occasions but no progress was being made to complete remaining works.

"The completion of the park is being delayed for one reason or another," she said while urging the Chief Minister to expedite completion of the park on top priority.

She said if this was not done, her ministry would be constrained to terminate the project which would deprive the state of significant job opportunities because of its own apathy.

She reiterated the necessity to operationalise the park at the earliest to generate employment for the youth, to benefit farmers by adding value to their produce and promoting industry in Punjab.

She said she had already sanctioned two new projects in Punjab in her second stint in the food processing ministry - a cold chain in Ferozepur and a mini food park in Fazilka.