Lok Sabha Question No. 2287 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-12
Subject: Cold Storage and Post-Harvest Infrastructure in Maharashtra
Ministry: FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
Asked by: Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2287

ANSWERED ON 12 TH  FEBRUARY, 2026

## COLD STORAGE AND POST-HARVEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN MAHARASHTRA

## 2287.   SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH: SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL: SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware that despite immense potential for cold storage and postharvest infrastructure in Maharashtra, particularly in major horticultural and agricultural regions,  farmers  have  not  received  adequate  encouragement,  incentives  or  institutional support and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has been unable to establish sufficient cold storage, grading and packaging hubs in rural areas of Maharashtra, leading to post-harvest losses and distress sale of perishable produce and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  benefits  of  food  processing  and  cold-chain  related  schemes  have  largely accrued  to  big  industrialists  and  organised  players,  leaving  small  and  marginal  famers neglected;
- (d) if so, the reasons for such skewed implementation and low farmer-level participation; and
- (e) if not, the number of farmers assisted in Maharashtra during the last three years, districtwise, along with the amount of financial assistance provided under each such scheme?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH)

(a) to (e): The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is implementing a Central Sector umbrella scheme 'Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)' to support setting up of food  processing  projects  across  the  country  including  the  State  of  Maharashtra.  Under  the component schemes namely (i) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure (Cold Chain scheme), (ii) Creation of Infrastructure for Agro Processing Clusters (APC scheme) and (iii) Operation Greens (OG scheme) - Long term intervention of PMKSY, cold storage and post-harvest infrastructure are supported as constituents in the integrated food processing projects. However, these component schemes do not support setting up of standalone cold storage and post-harvest infrastructure facilities. The above-mentioned component schemes of PMKSY are demand driven and the proposals for setting up of food processing projects are invited by floating Expression of Interests (EoIs) from time to time. Any eligible entrepreneur including farmers from across the country (including rural areas of Maharashtra) may apply and avail the benefits under any of the component schemes of PMKSY, whenever the Expression of Interest is open.

MoFPI is also implementing a Centrally  Sponsored 'PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme' for providing financial, technical and business support for setting up of new / upgradation of food processing enterprises across the country including the State of Maharashtra. The scheme is demand driven and is being implemented in rural as well as urban  areas.  The  scheme  aims  to  enhance  the  competitiveness  of  micro-enterprises  in  the unorganized segments of the food processing industries and promote formalization of the sector.

Department of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  Mission  for  Integrated Development  of  Horticulture  (MIDH)  for  holistic  development  of  horticulture  sector  in  the country.  Under  MIDH,  financial  assistance  is  provided  for  various  post-harvest  management infrastructure including setting up of Pack Houses, Integrated Pack House, cold storage, Reefer Transport,  Ripening  Chamber  etc.  on  the  basis  of  Annual  Action  Plan  (AAP)  received  from States/UTs.  AAPs  are  prepared  by  the  States/UTs  based  on  their  requirement,  capacity  and availability of resources. This scheme is demand/ entrepreneur driven and financial assistance in the form of credit linked back ended subsidy is provided at the rate of 35% of the project cost in general areas and 50% of the project cost in case of NE & Himalayan States, Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP)  and  Scheduled  areas,  vibrant  villages,  Andaman  &  Nicobar  and  Lakshadweep  Islands through respective State Horticulture Mission(s) (SHMs). The scheme is demand driven and being implemented across the country including the State of Maharashtra. During last three years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, 353 number of cold storages have been sanctioned under the scheme thereby creating cold storage capacity of 17.03 Lakh MT in the State of Maharashtra.

Besides,  National  Horticulture  Board  (NHB)  under  DA&FW  is  implementing  (i) 'Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management of Horticulture  Crops'  for  a  better  alternative  to  increase  the  income  of  farmers      in  which  the financial support in the form of back-ended subsidy is provided for setting up of units relating to horticulture sector such as production related projects, Post-Harvest Management (PHM) viz. Pack House, Ripening Chamber, Refer Van, Retail Outlets, Pre-cooling units, Primary processing etc. A credit-linked  back-ended  subsidy  at  the  rate  of  35%  to  50%  of  the  project  cost,  subject  to prescribed  cost  norms,  is  provided  under  MIDH.  The  scheme  is  demand  driven  and  being implemented across the country including the State of Maharashtra. During last three years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, 363 projects have been approved under the scheme with subsidy of Rs. 78.69 crore.  (ii)  Capital  Investment  Subsidy  for  Construction/  Expansion/  Modernization  of  Cold Storages  and  Storages  for  Horticulture  Products , under  this  scheme,  credit  linked  back-ended subsidy @35% of the capital cost of the project in general areas and @50% in case of North East, Hilly States & Scheduled areas for Cold storage capacity above 5000 MT and up to 20000 MT is sanctioned for construction/expansion/ modernization of cold storage and CA store, as per cost norms prescribed for various sizes/types of cold storages/onion storages. The scheme is demand driven and being implemented across the country including the State of Maharashtra. During last three years, from 2022-23 to 2024-25, 36 projects have been approved under the scheme thereby creating cold storage capacity of 1.90 Lakh MT in the State of Maharashtra.

Under component schemes of PMKSY, to avail financial assistance [maximum of Rs. 5.00 crore under Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities; maximum of Rs. 10.00 crore under Cold Chain scheme and APC scheme and maximum of Rs. 15.00 crore under OG scheme] for setting up of food processing projects, any individual / Central & State PSU / Joint  Venture / NGO / Cooperative/ Self Help Group (SHG) / Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)  /  Farmer  Producer  Company  (FPC)  /  Public  &  Private  Sector  Companies  /  Limited

Liability Partnerships (LLP) / Partnership Firms / Proprietorship Firms from across the country are eligible. Further, FPOs/FPCs comprising of farmers have been provided with the following advantages over the applicants from general area under the component schemes of PMKSY:

(i) shall have net worth equal to the grants-in-aid sought as against 1.5 times of the grants-in-aid sought in case of applicant from general area.

(ii) shall infuse promoters' equity of not less than 10% of the total project cost as against not less than 20% of the total project cost in case of applicant from general area

(iii) shall avail term loan of not less than 10% of the total project cost as against not less than 20% of the total project cost in case of applicant from general area

(iv) shall be eligible for availing grants-in-aid / subsidy at the rate of 50% of the eligible project cost as against 35% of the eligible project cost in case of applicant from general area.

As on 31.01.2025, as per the data provided by DA&FW, 8760 total number of cold storages have been created with total capacity of 397.08 LMT across the country. Details of the same are attached as Annexure-I.

Under PMKSY, 69 projects with grants-in-aid/  subsidy of Rs. 378.32  crore have been approved during the last three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) in the State of Maharashtra which lead to creation of total processing and preservation capacity of 26.84 Lakh MT / annum. District-wise details of projects approved under various component schemes of PMKSY during last three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) in the State of Maharashtra are provided at Annexure-II.

Under PMFME scheme of MoFPI, loans for 23079 micro food processing enterprises have been sanctioned with approved subsidy of Rs. 653.93 crore during last three financial years from 2022-23 to 2024-25. District-wise details of loans approved along with subsidy components during last  three  years  (2022-23  to  2024-25)  under  PMFME  scheme  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  are provided at Annexure-III .

*****

ANNEXURE-I  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  THE  LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2287 ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING 'COLD STORAGE AND POST-HARVEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN MAHARASHTRA' State-wise Cold Storage facilities created as on 31.01.2025 in the country

| Sr. No.   | State/UT                  |   No. of project |   Cold Storage created (Capacity in MT) |
|-----------|---------------------------|------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| 1         | Andaman &Nicobar          |                4 |                                    2210 |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh &Telangana |              480 |                                 1996340 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh         |                2 |                                    6000 |
| 4         | Assam                     |               43 |                                  206742 |
| 5         | Bihar                     |              316 |                                 1490200 |
| 6         | Chandigarh                |                7 |                                   12462 |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh              |              130 |                                  577663 |
| 8         | Delhi                     |               97 |                                  129857 |
| 9         | Goa                       |               29 |                                    7705 |
| 10        | Gujarat                   |             1023 |                                 4042770 |
| 11        | Haryana                   |              386 |                                  870703 |
| 12        | Himachal Pradesh          |               89 |                                  181318 |
| 13        | Jammu&Kashmir             |               92 |                                  151833 |
| 14        | Jharkhand                 |               59 |                                  242655 |
| 15        | Karnataka                 |              268 |                                  912417 |
| 16        | Kerala                    |              202 |                                   96655 |
| 17        | Lakshadweep               |                1 |                                      15 |
| 18        | Madhya Pradesh            |              320 |                                 1381827 |
| 19        | Maharashtra               |              665 |                                 1219851 |
| 20        | Manipur                   |                2 |                                    4500 |
| 21        | Meghalaya                 |                4 |                                    8200 |
| 22        | Mizoram                   |                3 |                                    4071 |
| 23        | Nagaland                  |                5 |                                    8150 |
| 24        | Odisha                    |              182 |                                  579321 |
| 25        | Puducherry                |                4 |                                     185 |
| 26        | Punjab                    |              770 |                                 2604206 |
| 27        | Rajasthan                 |              190 |                                  648908 |
| 28        | Sikkim                    |                2 |                                    2100 |
| 29        | Tamil Nadu                |              188 |                                  399690 |
| 30        | Telangana                 |              116 |                                  617131 |
| 31        | Tripura                   |               14 |                                   46354 |
| 32        | Uttar Pradesh             |             2488 |                                15096476 |
| 33        | Uttarakhand               |               62 |                                  206848 |
| 34        | West Bengal               |              517 |                                 5952997 |
| Total     | Total                     |             8760 |                                39708360 |

(Source: Directorate of Marketing and Inspection (DMI) up to 2009, National Horticulture Board (NHB), National Horticulture Mission (NHM), Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States (HMNEH)) and MoFPI)

## ANNEXURE-II REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a)  TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2287 ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING 'COLD STORAGE AND POST-HARVEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN MAHARASHTRA'

District-wise  details  of  projects  approved  under  various  component  schemes  of  PMKSY during last three years (2022-23 to 2024-25) in the State of Maharashtra

| Sr. No.   | District    | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   | No. of approved projects with grants-in-aid/ subsidy under component schemes of PMKSY during 2022-23 to 2024-25   |
|-----------|-------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|           |             | CEFPPC scheme                                                                                                     | CEFPPC scheme                                                                                                     | Cold Chain scheme                                                                                                 | Cold Chain scheme                                                                                                 | FTL scheme                                                                                                        | FTL scheme                                                                                                        | APC scheme                                                                                                        | APC scheme                                                                                                        | OGscheme                                                                                                          | OGscheme                                                                                                          |
|           |             | No .                                                                                                              | Amou nt (Rs. in Cr.)                                                                                              | No .                                                                                                              | Amou nt (Rs. in Cr.)                                                                                              | No .                                                                                                              | Amou nt (Rs. in Cr.)                                                                                              | No .                                                                                                              | Amou nt (Rs. in Cr.)                                                                                              | No .                                                                                                              | Amou nt (Rs. in Cr.)                                                                                              |
| 1.        | Ahmednagar  | 3                                                                                                                 | 14.98                                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                                 | 18.02                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 2.        | Aurangabad  | 4                                                                                                                 | 15.14                                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                                 | 12.43                                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.23                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 3.        | Beed        | 2                                                                                                                 | 10.00                                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                                 | 20.00                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 4.        | Bhandra     | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 10.00                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 5.        | Dhule       | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 6.        | Hingoli     | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 7.        | Jalgaon     | 2                                                                                                                 | 1.36                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 8.        | Kolhapur    | 2                                                                                                                 | 6.79                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 9.03                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 9.        | Nagpur      | 4                                                                                                                 | 15.97                                                                                                             | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 8.01                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 10.0                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 10.00                                                                                                             |
| 10.       | Nandurbar   | 1                                                                                                                 | 1.73                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 11.       | Nashik      | 8                                                                                                                 | 39.93                                                                                                             | 2                                                                                                                 | 12.29                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 9.5                                                                                                               |
| 12.       | Navi Mumbai | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.32                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 13.       | Pune        | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 8.46                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 10.0                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 7.00                                                                                                              |
| 14.       | Sangli      | 2                                                                                                                 | 3.89                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 15.       | Satara      | 9                                                                                                                 | 42.00                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 16.       | Solapur     | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 9.52                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 1                                                                                                                 | 10.0                                                                                                              | 1                                                                                                                 | 5.00                                                                                                              |
| 17.       | Thane       | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 3                                                                                                                 | 15.08                                                                                                             | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
| 18.       | Washim      | 2                                                                                                                 | 6.64                                                                                                              | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 | 0                                                                                                                 |
|           |             | 42                                                                                                                | 173.43                                                                                                            | 13                                                                                                                | 99.75                                                                                                             | 6                                                                                                                 | 33.64                                                                                                             | 4                                                                                                                 | 40.0                                                                                                              | 4                                                                                                                 | 31.5                                                                                                              |

*****

## ANNEXURE-III REFERRED IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (e) OF THE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2287 ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING 'COLD STORAGE AND POST-HARVEST INFRASTRUCTURE IN MAHARASHTRA'

District-wise details of loans approved along with the subsidy component of during last three years under PMFME scheme in the State of Maharashtra:

| S. No.   | District Name             |   Number of Loans Sanctioned |   Subsidy (Rupees in crore) |
|----------|---------------------------|------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1        | Ahilyanagar               |                         1426 |                       63.13 |
| 2        | Akola                     |                          437 |                       11.38 |
| 3        | Amravati                  |                          932 |                       11.37 |
| 4        | Beed                      |                          133 |                        5.72 |
| 5        | Bhandara                  |                          341 |                        6.83 |
| 6        | Buldhana                  |                          937 |                       31.17 |
| 7        | Chandrapur                |                          724 |                        5.29 |
| 8        | Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar |                         1836 |                       23.41 |
| 9        | Dharashiv                 |                          432 |                        9.1  |
| 10       | Dhule                     |                          545 |                       10.92 |
| 11       | Gadchiroli                |                          293 |                        1.95 |
| 12       | Gondia                    |                          648 |                        6.22 |
| 13       | Hingoli                   |                          193 |                        5.48 |
| 14       | Jalgaon                   |                          966 |                       31.91 |
| 15       | Jalna                     |                          548 |                       10.31 |
| 16       | Kolhapur                  |                          946 |                       61.31 |
| 17       | Latur                     |                          353 |                        6.72 |
| 18       | Mumbai                    |                            6 |                        0.21 |
| 19       | Mumbai Suburban           |                           45 |                        0.96 |
| 20       | Nagpur                    |                          717 |                       13.59 |
| 21       | Nanded                    |                          344 |                       11.01 |
| 22       | Nandurbar                 |                          510 |                       10.6  |
| 23       | Nashik                    |                         1205 |                       50.82 |
| 24       | Palghar                   |                          304 |                        6.54 |
| 25       | Parbhani                  |                          302 |                        6.71 |
| 26       | Pune                      |                         1129 |                       62.45 |
| 27       | Raigad                    |                          234 |                        4.42 |
| 28       | Ratnagiri                 |                          380 |                       13.99 |
| 29       | Sangli                    |                         1228 |                       39.61 |
| 30       | Satara                    |                          939 |                       43.35 |
| 31       | Sindhudurg                |                          554 |                       14.81 |
| 32       | Solapur                   |                          986 |                       41.21 |
| 33       | Thane                     |                          347 |                       10.45 |
| 34       | Wardha                    |                          871 |                        7.25 |
| 35       | Washim                    |                          477 |                        6.92 |
| 36       | Yavatmal                  |                          811 |                        6.82 |
|          | Grand Total               |                        23079 |                      653.93 |