The much publicized Potato Mission launched by the BJD government in Odisha to raise the potato production and make the state self-sufficient in potato has miserably failed, BJP State General Secretary Prithiviraj Harichandan said in Bhubaneswar in a press conference.
Addressing newsmen on Saturday Mr Harichandan alleged that the Potato mission launched by the state government in 2014 with budgetary provision to increase the potato production has failed.
He alleged that Ministers and officers have looted Rs.300 crore under the Potato Mission. They have toured countries like Dubai and Peru where the potato is not cultivated to gain knowledge about potato cultivation
Mr Harichandan said during the last 19-year rule, the BJD government failed to increase the potato production and set up cold storage in the state.
Even after 19-year rule of the BJD, the state is still depending upon West Bengal to meet its potato requirement. The BJD, he said in its 2014 election Manifesto had promised to set up cold storages in each block of the state.
The BJP leader asked the government to clarify how many clod storages were opened during the last five years.
He said on December 27, 2014, the government launched the Potato mission and in August 2015, the Chief Minister had announced to set up 112 cold storages in three years.
Later the ministerial committee reviewed the progress of the potato mission twice in October 2015 and in March 2016. But the outcome of the review was not yet known.
Mr Harichandan said cold storages under PPP mode set up by 22 young entrepreneurs are now lying locked due to low production and lack of electricity.
The government, he said hastargetted to produce 11 million tons of potato in three years but instead of increasing the potato production, but the potato production has been declining since 2015.
Mr Harichandan said the capacity of all the cold storage in the state is 1,63,780 ton which is less than the capacity of cold storage of a district in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
