Around 455 acres of land was allocated for the Patanjali Food and Herbal Park in Greater Noida. (File)
Threatened with scrapping of a planned Rs 6000-crore mega food processing plant by Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved, the Uttar Pradesh government has swiftly moved to remove the bottlenecks the project is facing. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has spoken to both Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved chief Acharya Balkrishna, and officials have been asked to look into the matter, sources said.
The food processing unit, planned over 450 acres near the Yamuna Expressway in Noida near Delhi, was expected to improve the lives of lakhs of farmers and provide huge employment opportunities for young people that the state desperately needs. Patanjali had said it would create 10,000 jobs and produce goods worth Rs 25,000 crore annually, if it runs to its full capacity.
Yesterday, Acharya Balkrishna, managing director of the fast-growing consumer goods giant, had delivered a stinging rebuke to the state government. Alleging that they did not receive "any cooperation from the state government", Acharya Balkrishna said the company has decided to shift the project.
"The Chief Minister talked to Baba Ramdev yesterday... There is no need to sign another MoU. It'll be brought before cabinet," UP minister Satish Mahana said today. It is not yet decided when the cabinet meeting will be held.
Patanjali's food and herbal park was given in-principle approval in January, said officials of the centre's food processing ministry. But after the company failed to meet several conditions -- including submission land and bank loan papers - they were given a month's deadline.
Acharya Balkrishna, the co-founder of Patanjali Ayurved who owns 98.6 per cent of the company, told reporters that they haven't been able to complete the paperwork because they received no help from the state government. The company had several meetings with officials, ministers and even the Chief Minister, but the matter remained unresolved.
Mr Mahana, who is the industry minister in Yogi Adityanath's government, today explained the delay saying, "The land was allotted under the name of Patanjali Ayurveda, but later they wanted it under Patanjali Foods".