Central government allocates INR 145 crore for ‘Unity Mall’ in Dimapur

DIMAPUR — The central government has allocated INR 145 crore for the construction of ‘Unity Mall’ in Dimapur as proposed by the state government.

This was disclosed by the special secretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Sumita Dawra, during the One District One Product (ODOP) Sampark event held at Hotel Vivor in Kohima on Wednesday. The event was organised by Invest India and DPIIT, in collaboration with the department of Industries, government of Nagaland and Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The event was organised to create awareness regarding the efforts of DPIIT through its two flagships initiatives namely One District One Product (ODOP) and PM Gati Shakti (Logistics), stated a PIB report. The development commissioner of nagaland, R Ramakrishnan, and the commissioner and secretary of Industries and Commerce, Kekhrievor Kevichusa, were also present at the event.

Addressing the event, Dawra stated that organic farming is adding value to agriculture. She stated that there are many high value crops in Nagaland, some of which have medicinal values and are in great demand not just in India but all over the world. She, therefore, emphasized on the need to connect the producers with the market so that they are able to get higher interest.

Dawra pointed out the vision of the ODOP programme was to train and certified farmers so that their organic produces are exported within India and abroad. In this regard, she informed that in the introductory programme held on June 20, a total of 30 farmers from Nagaland have registered under the National Program for Organic Production (NPOP). She informed that documentation for the organic certification for over 15 chili farmers from Kohima was done during the workshop and the remaining would be completed soon after the verification of their documents. 

The special secretary informed that INR 145 crore has been allocated for the proposed ‘Unity Mall’ as planned by the state government in Dimapur. She also informed that the local officials representing the department of Industries, Agriculture, Horticulture and APEDA have highlighted the need for an integrated customs depot, a dedicated Krishi rail wagon up to Dimapur and connectivity under the Krishi Udan scheme for connectivity of organic products.

She has assured the local officials to proactively take up those matters with all concerned ministries and departments under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. She, therefore, urged the state government to submit the letters of requirements as directed by the ministries of Railways and Civil Aviation.

The official from Invest India also highlighted the efforts of DPIIT under the ODOP initiative for empowerment of Indian products through interventions like design sensitisation workshops, ODOP GeM Bazaar on government e-marketplace and ODOP exhibitions.

The event also witnessed exhibition of ODOP products from Nagaland including chili, fish, coffee, turmeric etc. The farmers were also able to raise their concerns with the officials for the promotion and empowerment of producers from Nagaland.

Report also stated that a review meeting on PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (NMP) under the chairpersonship of the special secretary was held with officials of the state government later in the evening.

The objective of the meeting was to promote wider adoption of PM GatiShakti for holistic planning, bring more vigour and build synergy with all the stakeholders.

It further stated that over 30 government officials comprising members from empowered group of secretaries and network planning group of Nagaland attended the meeting.