Subsidies to private parties keen to set up cold storage, says Atul Bora

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, May 8: Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora has informed the State Assembly that the State Government is going to offer 50 per cent subsidy to private parties willing to set up of cold storage facilities in the State.

AIUDF MLA Sherman Ali raised the issue that some farmers of Bagbor and Mandia had to dump their potato as the prices of the commodity were at their rock bottom. The MLA said that had there been adequate cold storage facilities in the State, the farmers could have saved their perishable crops like potato which they had to damage.

The MLA further said that some top officials in the State Agriculture Department were minting money by importing potato seeds from other States even as the State has quality potato seeds. “There’s a seed certification agency in Assam. It, for reasons best known to it, doesn’t certify potato seeds of the State. A section of officials of the department mints money in the me of importing potato seeds,” the MLA said.

In his reply, Bora said: “The government is ready to offer 50 per cent subsidies to private parties willing to set up cold storage in the State. There are some cold storage facilities in the government sector, but many of them have been lying defunct.”

Bora further said: “The department had to procure potato worth Rs 150 crore at the rate of Rs 5 a kg from the farmers when the prices of the commodity sank very low.”