New Delhi

The Government of India has accorded Final approval to 13 (Thirteen) proposals for setting up of Mega Food Parks in various parts of the country including rural areas during the current Five Year Plan period till date.

One of them is approved in Gujarat. It is Rs 117.87 crore ‘Gujarat Agro Infrastructure Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd’ in Jhakharda at Mangrol taluka in Surat district for which Rs 50 crore grant has been approved and Rs 5 crore grant money amount has been released so far.

All 13 Mega Food Parks are private sector driven projects and responsibility of execution, ownership and management of these projects vests with a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a company incorporated under the Companies Act. State Government/ State Government entities/Cooperatives have also been allowed to set up Mega Food Parks in the country by recent amendments in the scheme guidelines w.e.f. 10.02.02014.

These Mega Food Parks are currently in the process of implementation. On completion, direct and indirect employment for about 30000 persons is likely to be created by each of these Mega Food Parks.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Sadhvi Niramjan Jyoti in a written reply in Lok Sabha.