Maharashtra orders state power discom to charge cold storage dairy units at par with agricultural ones

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has ordered the state power discom to charge cold storage dairy units at the same rate as agricultural cold storage units.
The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company charges cold storage dairy units Rs 10.20 for every unit of power consumed, almost thrice what the agricultural storage units pay (Rs 3.50 per unit). The high tariff has often been cited as a stumbling block for cold storage dairy units in the state.

The decision, taken on Friday , came after 21 business heads who were setting up dairy and agricultural units in the state met top officials in the state to iron out issues regarding their projects.

The state government's push in favour of cold storage units comes on the back of its own calculation that about a third of the state's vegetable and fruits production gets wasted for want of proper cold storage and processing units.

Mukesh Shah, who is setting up a 5,000 tonne dairy cold storage unit in the state, cheered the move. “It's a great relief because the high electricity cost was not in the best interest of farmers involved in dairy production. I was amazed at how quickly the decisions were taken in one single meeting,“ said Shah, the owner of PD Shah Cold Storage.

On cold storage units' demand that they should be allowed to increase their building height, officials said plant owners will now get 1.5 floor space index ( FSI), which means they don't need to buy more land and can go vertical provided they pay a premium for it.

The government also cleared some other issues relating to power connection and clearances from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board ( MPCB).Praveen Pardeshi, additional chief secretary to the CM, who was present at the meeting, has given specific instructions to collectors to appoint nodal officers to iron out any more issues that may arise.