Indian Express 09.03.2010
Varanasi food street project turns stale; start work or return money, Centre tells Nigam
Tarannum Manjul Tags : food street project, government Posted: Tuesday , Mar 09, 2010 at 0138 hrs
Lucknow: Two years have passed since the Centre decided to set up a food street in Varanasi as part of its prestigious Food Street Scheme, but the project is yet to take off. Reason: The Varanasi Nagar Nigam (VNN), which is the implementing agency for the project, is yet to identify the area for the proposed food street and complete the survey for identifying the food stalls to be covered under the scheme.One of the biggest projects of the Union Ministry of Food Processing, Tirupathi is the only other city to be made part of the project. The ministry has now asked VNN to either start the survey by March 31 or relinquish the project. The budget for each chosen district was Rs 5 crore, of which Rs 1 crore had to be utilised for identifying the site, preparing a basic map and conducting a survey of vendors to be covered under the scheme.
We submitted a baseline proposal for setting up the food street in the Sarnath area, as it is a major tourist spot. We got in-principle approval from the ministry, which then released funds in installments for the first phase,” said a VNN official. The ministry had released Rs 25 lakh for the project in December 2008, while another Rs 75 lakh was disbursed in 2009. The official added: “The first phase comes to an end on March 31, 2010. Between April 2010 and March 2012, the street must be ready, with the construction and training component completed.”
The Union ministry had on March 6, 2009, written to the Nigam asking it to either start work or return the Rs 25 lakh taken as first installment. The Nigam, however, sent a proposal selecting Sarnath as the site, following which the ministry released more funds. The ministry has now sent officials to the city, riding on the final warning issued to the Nigam that it may lose the project, if work does not start on time.
“The state government has the funds sent to the VNN through the Urban Development department. The Union ministry is shelling out the entire fund for the project and the Nigam just has to conduct a survey,” said an official with the ministry.
He added: “The place they have identified has around 90 vendors on normal days, with nearly a 100 joining in on Sundays and peak days like Buddh Purnima. This is not a big number to mark, but nothing has been initiated so far.”
The mayor, however, is still optimistic to meet the project deadline. Varanasi city Mayor Kaushalendra Singh said: “We are fortunate that Varanasi is one of the two cities chosen for the project. We are conducting a probe as to why the project is being delayed and I have asked the municipal commissioner to give me details of the project immediately.” Singh is said to have already asked the Nigam officials to start with the vendor survey.
The project is intended to provide a boost to the street food industry by training vendors to improve food quality, maintain cleanliness and hygiene on par with international standards. The ministry also aimed at providing support to these vendors through bank loans, and providing financial support to the Nagar Nigam to construct shops at the designated food street.
