The State government has asked the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to conduct a study on the requirement of godown capacity as the yield from agriculture will be substantially higher once the ongoing works on irrigation projects are completed.

 

“Nabard has been asked to conduct study the existing capacity and the expected rise after the completion of the projects,” Irrigation and Marketing Minister T. Harish Rao said. He said the government had launched works on 330 godowns with storage capacity of 17.05 lakh metric tonnes after the formation of the new State owing to the problems witnessed in the erstwhile united State.

 

The godowns had been taken up with an estimated ₹1,024.5 crore of which ₹818.14 crore had been spent so far. In the process, the government could save about ₹150 crore due to acceptance of less premium by the bidders and this saved amount was in turn allocated for construction of 34 more godowns. In all, the capacity planned is about 18.3 lakh metric tonne through 364 godowns.

 

The Minister said the government had constituted a Cabinet sub-committee to examine the requirements for giving a boost to food processing sector. Action would be initiated to create necessary cold storage facilities once the Cabinet panel submits its report, he said.