Special Food Processing Zone to be Set Up in Sangareddy

A 'Special Food Processing Zone' would almost certainly be established on 600 acres in the Sangareddy district, close to the state capital. The district administration is in the process of acquiring revenue divisions in Sangareddy and Zaheerabad in Munipally and Kohir mandals of the district. The process, which began a long time ago, is now gaining traction.

For the purpose of establishing food processing industries, 288 acres in Kankol and Lingampally villages in Muniapally mandal and 295.31 acres in Venkatapur in Kohir mandal have been identified for acquisition.

When it comes to land acquisition, officials pasted notices in panchayat offices last year, but the process has yet to begin. They recently issued a notification in this regard.

The majority of this 600-acre land has been assigned to dalits by previous governments, including land assignment certificates handed over by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Officials are negotiating with them to reclaim these lands.

Initially, officials reportedly offered the assignees about 6 lakh per acre to return the lands, but they declined. The officials are now preparing to increase the offer amount, but it was unclear how much.

"Several food processing industries, including food packing, food processing, soft drinks - food pulp units, are planned in the Special Food Processing Zone, which is spread across both Munipally and Kohir mandals."

“A variety of industries dealing with processing, packing, and storage will be mentioned here. We will purchase land and transfer it to the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC). It would allot land to industries based on their size and needs," said an officer.

What is Food Processing?

Food processing refers to any process in which a raw agricultural, dairy, animal husbandry, meat, poultry, or fishing product is transformed through a process (involving employees, power, machines, or money) so that its original physical properties change and the transformed product has commercial value and is suitable for human and animal consumption.

It also includes the process of adding value to products through methods such as preservation, the addition of food additives, drying, and so on, in order to effectively preserve food substances, increase their shelf life, and improve their quality.