Hyderabad: The Telangana government has failed to set up a single ethylene fruit-ripening chamber in major markets to check use of harmful calcium carbide for artificial ripening of fruits. Though the Centre offered to give 35 per cent subsidy to set up five such chambers last year, the TS government failed to submit proposals.
With the High Court rapping the government recently over its negligence to check the carbide menace, officials sprang into action to set up ethylene chambers for ripening of fruits in a safe manner.
The state government has proposed to the Centre to set up four ethylene chambers in major markets this year initially and also agreed to bear the remaining 65 per cent expenditure.
The Gaddiannaram fruit market, considered to be the largest in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, has 97 godowns from where hundreds of fruit companies do business.
This market is the major fruit supplier to both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and harmful carbide-ripened fruits have been posing severe health problems for consumers.
“The Centre has agreed to bear '92 lakh expenditure to set up four fruit ripening chambers in Telangana towards its share of 35 per cent this year. The state government has sent proposals to bear the remaining 65 per cent. The funds are expected to be released shortly after which we will expedite the works,” said marketing minister T. Harish Rao.
Mr Rao said besides these, the government would also encourage private players to set up such chambers in public private partnership mode for covering the entire state in a shorter period. The agriculture markets in TS are also facing severe shortage of cold storages to store vegetables.
“The government has decided to set up five big cold storages in major markets initially this year. The Centre has offered to give Rs 14.67 crore to set up 11 cold storages in TS. All these works will be taken up on war footing,” Mr Rao added.
