Arunachal Pradesh government launches mega plantation drive for oil palm cultivation

OUR CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm, the Arunachal Pradesh government has launched a mega plantation drive for oil palm cultivation in the state.

During the fortnight-long plantation drive which got underway from July 29, the state government is targeting to cover about 700 hectares of land for oil palm plantation, covering six districts of the state, officials said here on Tuesday. Two private companies – 3F Oil Palm Private Limited and Patanjali Foods Limited (formerly known as Ruchi Soya Industries Limited) are participating in the plantation drive, the officials said.

Taking to Twitter Chief Minister Pema Khandu said, “With an aim to increase oil palm cultivation under National Mission for Edible Oils, we have launched a mega plantation drive from July 29 to August 12, in Arunachal Pradesh.” “Under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi Ji, this is yet another step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat by reducing oil import burden by further augmenting domestic oil palm cultivation,” Khandu said in another tweet.

The chief minister has appealed to everyone to participate in the drive ‘for self-reliance, greener and sustainable future’. The 3F Oil Palm Pvt Ltd, a leading oil palm company, has started work on its first integrated oil palm factory in Arunachal Pradesh with an initial investment of Rs 250 crores. The company, which has oil palm projects in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat has already acquired 120 acres of land in Lower Dibang Valley district of the state for the project in February last year. The first phase of the factory is expected to be commissioned by the end of this year and would provide jobs to 300 people in the district.

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