Patanjali Cancels Proposed Rs 6,000 Crore Mega Food Processing Park In Uttar Pradesh

Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. said it is pulling out of its proposed Rs 6,000-crore mega food processing project along the Yamuna Expressway, citing non-cooperation from the state government.

However, the UP government said it has given one more month to Patanjali to meet the conditions required to get final approval.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority could not get the required clearances for transfer of land from the state government, said a top company official. The Hairdwar-based company had proposed to invest up to Rs 6,000 crore to set up a plant over 425 acres of land at YEIDA to cater to domestic and export markets through its step-down firm Patanjali Food & Herbal Park.

Confirming the development, Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna told PTI, “We are cancelling the project as we did not get required clearances from the UP state government.” The company now plans to shift the project to some other state, he said without disclosing further details.

Citing the reason for pulling out of the state, he said, "We did not get any cooperation from the state government for this project. We have waited for a long time for clearances but could not get from the state government. Now we have decided to shift the project.”

Patanjali was given a one-month extension by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries till the end of June to get the requisite clearances to start the project.

When contacted Food Processing Secretary JP Meena told PTI, “Patanjali was given four months time to meet the conditions required to get the final approval. There are four to five conditions, including land and bank loans, which any party that wants to set up mega food park has to fulfil.”

The ministry has not cancelled the project, Meena added. “We have given one-month extension to Patanjali... they have to meet the conditions. In case, Patanjali does not meet them, we have no choice but to cancel. We have done it earlier in many projects.” Patanjali had already got support from the financial institutions for the project, Balkrishna claimed.

"We got extensions two times from the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and now time is lapsing as we could not get the required clearances from the state government," Balakrishna said.

Mega food parks are to be implemented within 30 months and financial assistance is provided to them by the central government.

Earlier, Patanjali had said that its Yamuna Expressway-based plant would produce goods worth Rs 25,000 crore annually, if it runs to its full capacity. It would also create 10,000 direct jobs, the company added.

Patanjali is presently investing in mega food park projects, including Nagpur in Madhya Pradesh and Tejpur in Assam.