NBCC Bags Rs 1,500 Crore Consultancy Work To Create World’s Largest Storage For Foodgrains In Cooperative Sector

NBCC India Limited has secured the project management consultancy contract for overseeing the construction of 1,469 warehouses and additional agricultural infrastructure.

In a regulatory filing, NBCC informed that it has bagged the work order from the National Cooperative Development Corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Primary Agriculture Cooperative Society in various states.

The project is part of the world's largest grain storage initiative in the cooperative sector and spans various locations across India. In May this year, the union cabinet had approved the scheme, to be rolled out as a pilot project.

The plan entails creation of various agri infrastructure at primary agricultural cooperative societies (PACS) level, including warehouses, custom hiring centre, processing units, fair price shops, among others by leveraging the ‘whole-of-government’ approach.

The scheme will have an outlay of Rs 1-lakh crore which will be mobilised through the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme, PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme and PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana.

Under the scheme, each of over 7,200 blocks will have a godown with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes to be managed by block development offices. Also, each of over 63,000 functional PACS will establish, operate and manage godowns with capacity between 500 and 2,000 tonnes.

The creation of decentralised storage capacity ranging from 500 MT to 2,000 MT at PACS level would reduce food grain wastage by creating sufficient storage capacity, strengthen food security of the country, prevent distress sale of crops and enable farmers to realise better prices for their crops.

Since PACS would be operating as procurement centre, as well as fair price shops, the cost incurred in transportation of food grains to procurement centres and again transporting the stocks back from warehouses to fair price shops would also be saved.