Lucknow, May 5 (KNN) The Indian Industries Association, Uttar Pradesh, has urged state chief minister Yogi Adityanath to revive the Food Park in Gorakhpur (Shahajanwa).

Seeking help to revive the Food Park, IIA wrote a letter to Adityanath, state industry minister and Principal Secretary.

IIA pointed that the the Food Park in Gorakhpur was approved by Ministry of Food Processing Government of India in 2004 with the efforts of Yogi Adityanath, the then MP from Gorakhpur and now the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

For this a grant-in-aid of Rs.323.11 lakhs was approved by Ministry of Food Processing Industry Government of India under scheme of Infrastructure Development and first installment of Rs. 80.77 lakhs was released in July 2007.

However, IIA highlighted that the implementing agency i.e. Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA) did not took necessary initiatives to complete the project nor interacted with Ministry of Food Processing Industry Government of India for further release of grant-in-aid.

“As a result the Government of India withdrew the support in 2011 leading to gutting down of a viable project by the then state government & GIDA,” IIA said.

IIA noted that the Gorakhpur and region around it is appropriate to set up Food Processing Industries mainly because the region is highly suitable for agriculture.

But, so far the food processing industries have not been set up in the region, IIA said.

Some of the MSMEs who had put up the industries in the Food Park are somehow running the industries. Moreover, they have pointed that GIDA is now planning to a lot the vacant lands to some other industries as well, IIA said adding that some industries could even be polluting units which could pose danger to the food processing units in the Food Park.

The industry association has urged the UP Government to take immediate steps to revive the food park and issue strict instructions to GIDA to allot land only for the foods processing units. (KNN Bureau)