HYDERABAD: For establishing more modern agricultural godowns in mandals across the State for storing agricultural produce, Minister for Agriculture, Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said that State government has asked all the district collectors to identify suitable vacant land for constructing godowns.
Also, there is a proposal to set up cold storage facilities in the State. The State has entrusted the task to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to prepare guidelines and submit report for taking further action.
When compared to other States in the country, Telangana has adequate godown facilities of 17,50,000 MT.
Answering a question raised by Balka Suman and other TRS members, Reddy said that before the formation of State, there were 176 godowns with capacity of 4,17,500 MT.
After the State’s formation, in the last five years, 345 godowns were sanctioned, of them, 331 are constructed with storage of 17,02,500 MT, and another 14 are under construction, having a capacity of 47,500 MT. The total cost of the project is Rs 1,024 crore.
These godowns are constructed with NABARD loans of Rs 972 crore, with State’s share of Rs 51.71 crore. The expenditure incurred so far is Rs 841 crore.