LUCKNOW: After failing to present the fresh documents related to sub-leasing of the land allocated to Patanjali Ayurveda Limited for a mega food park project in the June 12 cabinet meeting, Uttar Pradesh government wrote a letter to the Union Food Processing Ministry seeking time till June 30, 2018 for grant of sub-lease for the prestigious project to come up along Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.
Sources, however, confirmed that responding to state government's request, Centre granted it the extension in deadline till June 30 to complete the modalities related to sub-leasing of the land to Patanjali for Rs 6,000 crore mega project.
Initially, the time granted by the Centre to UP government to grant sub-lease and other facilities till June 15, 2018. As per a correspondence released by the state government here on Wednesday, at a meeting between the Union department of Food Processing on May 5, 2018, it was decided that the firm would fulfil all the conditions in connection with the project in June.
Centre had directed the state to grant sub-lease of the land for the project till June 15, 2018 failing which the promoter would be free to shift the project put of UP even without giving a notice.
It may be recalled that on June 5, a big political row was kicked by after Patanjali MD Acharya Balkrishna had taken to twitter stating that his company was all set to shift the food park project out of Uttar Pradesh due to state government's indifference and non-cooperation which was delaying the clearances needed for transfer of the land allocated for the project.
In the meantime, CM Yogi Adityanth's personal intervention and after his dialogue with Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna, PAL said it was reviewing its earlier decision to pull the project out of state. Later, the CM had directed officials to expedite the process for Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to set up its food park.
The Haridwar-based company had proposed to invest up to Rs 6,000 crore to set up a plant over 455 acres of land which has to be sub-leased along the Yamuna Expressway. The project, which will be seen as a huge investment push to Uttar Pradesh, is likely to benefit around 50,000 families with ensured job to around 10,000 people in the state.
The land for the project to be set up Patanjali subsidiary firm-- Patanjali Food Park and Herbal Private Limited -- was allocated by previous state government in November , 2016.