HYDERABAD: Telangana is all set to witness the setting up of special food processing zones on a large scale.
A high-level meeting attended by ministers KT Rama Rao (Industries), S Nirajan Reddy (Agriculture) and Gangula Kamalakar (Civil Supplies) here on Wednesday decided that each food processing zone should come up over not less than 225 acres which would have all facilities like water and power supply, roads and drinking water availability.
There would also be a common effluent plant for each zone. The food processing units would cater to the needs of farmers who are raising not only paddy but also chillies, turmeric, pulses, edible oils, fruits and vegetables. The facilities would include processing, storage units and marketing infrastructure.
Officials who attended the meeting informed that already 350 expression-of-interest letters have been received for setting up food processing zones.
Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said that as the government wants to increase participation, the date of submission was being further extended to ensure that more applications would be received.
He appealed to the MLAs to show more interest in helping the authorities acquire necessary land for the creation of the zones.
He said that as Telangana is having a surplus in food grain production, the number of rice mills should also increase. He said the agony of people in drought-affected areas is now a distant blur as Telangana's hinterland was fast becoming verdant with the availability of enough water for irrigation purposes.
"There used to be perennially drought-hit districts like Mahabubnagar in the past. Now the scenario has totally changed. Irrigation projects in all areas are brimming with water," Rama Rao said and underscored the need for setting up more rice mills.
The minister said that apart from paddy, raising of oil palm is also being encouraged keeping in mind future requirements and the industries department has come up with a plan for setting up special food processing zones and units. Minister Gangula Kamalakar wanted an enunciation of a policy to encourage those who want to set up rice mills. "If the state does milling extensively, there is scope for exporting rice to countries like China," the minister said.