PATNA: The state cabinet on Thursday gave its nod to the government's plan to create two integrated value chain (IVC) or agriculture market hubs (AMHs) - one each in Muzaffarpur and Nalanda districts - at an investment of Rs 374.75 crore in Private Public Partnership (PPP) mode under the Agri Business Infrastructure Development Investment Programme of the central government.
The two AMHs would cater to the agricultural activities in 11 districts. The AMH in Nalanda district would be the core centre for six districts of Nalanda, Patna, Gaya, Bhojpur, Buxar and Rohtas while the AMH in Muzaffarpur district would serve five districts - Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Darbhanga, Samastipur and Begusarai, said cabinet secretariat department principal secretary Ravi Kant.
According to him, the two IVCs or AMHs have nothing to do with food processing, which is entirely another sector. "The AMH is aimed at creating a platform or infrastructure facility for marketing of agri produce (fruits, vegetables, etc.) and would consist of facilities like cold chain, warehouse, among others," Ravi Kant said.
The investors would identify their own land for the purpose. Of the Rs 374.75 crore to be invested in the project, the investor's share is Rs 201.53 crore and the state government's share is Rs 173.22 crore. The government, on its part, would raise 80% of its share or Rs 138.58 crore through loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) while the remaining share of Rs 34.64 crore would be raised from its own resources. The cabinet, accordingly, authorized the government to enter into an agreement with the ADB.
In another significant development, the cabinet approved an amendment in the government's resolution regarding payment of ex gratia to the dependents of people killed in Maoist attacks. The earlier resolution was adopted on December 20, 2010.
As per the amendment, even if a criminal is killed during any Maoist attack, his dependent would get an ex gratia amount provided the deceased has not been listed as a criminal in the government's records. Earlier, dependents of criminals were not deemed as suitable for receiving ex gratia. The ex gratia payment is Rs 1 lakh against death, Rs 50,000 for being reduced to being permanently handicapped and Rs 20,000 against any serious injury.
The cabinet also gave its nod to the launch of e-district project on a pilot basis in four districts - Nalanda, Aurangabad, Madhubani and Gaya - under the national e-governance programme. In the e-districts, applications for the issuance of select certificates would be filed at the block-level Vasudha Kendra while the certificates would also be issued through online facility at the same Vasudha Kendra.
The cabinet also gave its administrative sanction to the use of Rs 167.03 crore for the strengthening and raising of the embankment of the Adhwara and Kharoi group of rivers. The cabinet also gave its nod to the creation of additional 13 posts of plan assistants, 11 posts of data operators and 26 lower division typists for district planning offices under the planning and development department.
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