By: KV Kurmanath
The Telangana Government will expand the warehousing capacity by 21.50 lakh tonnes by spending Rs. 1,070 crore in three phases. In the first phase, it would allocate Rs. 300 crore to build a warehousing capacity of 7 lakh tonnes.
The present warehousing capacity to store agricultural produce stood at 32.70 lakh tonnes. But the demand is pegged at 54 lakh tonnes, leaving a huge supply-demand gap. It is estimated that it would cost Rs. 50 crore to build a warehousing capacity of one lakh tonnes.
“We will identify the suitable places to locate the warehouses soon and begin construction work this year. We will take the help of Nabard,” a senior official of the Marketing Department said after a review meeting.
The review meeting on warehouses held here on Wednesday was attended by Marketing, Irrigation and Legislative Affairs Minister T Harish Rao, top officials of Marketing Department and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).
“The Minister has asked the officials to prepare Detailed Project Reports by the end of the month,” he said.
Source: The Hindu