The modern silos near farms “would act as purchase centres (mandis)”, and would require around one-third land as compared to the conventional storage warehouses, the government said.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will build modern steel silos with a cumulative capacity of 111.125 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) at 249 locations across 12 states, at an investment of around Rs 9,236 crore, the Centre said on October 19.
These silos would be constructed in three phases over “next three to four years”, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said, adding that they would developed in accordance with the “hub & spoke model” under public private partnership.
The hub and spoke model is used as a reference for distribution methods in which a centralised hub is present.
“In the first phase of hub & spoke model, silos of 34.875 LMT capacity at 80 locations would be constructed by FCI,” an official release said. These 80 silos would come up in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
The silos in the first phase are “expected to built with an investment of more than Rs 2,800 crores”, the release noted. These projects are conceived in consultation with state governments, Niti Aayog, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Steel, it added.
The proposed model of development is DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) and DBFOO (Design, Build, Finance, Own and Operate), wherein the private entities shall be responsible for construction and operation of these modern silos for a pre-defined period.
The DBFOT mode mandates FCI to provide the land for construction of silos, while under the DBFOO mode, the land is to be acquired by the private entities.
According to the government, the modern silos near farms “would act as purchase centres (mandis) and expected to reduce distance for farmers and further reduce operational difficulties and complexities”.”Mechanised operations make silos operational round the clock and also reduce turn-around time for intake and off take of agri-produce and would improve overall efficiency. Further, these modern steel silos require approximately one-third land as compared to conventional storage warehouses,” it further said.