Ranchi, Aug. 2: An ambitious Rs 114-crore mega food park project, the foundation stone of which was laid some 18 months ago, has virtually remained a non-starter.

The deadline for the maiden food park is March 2011, but it is staring at inordinate delay because of a spat over a “defective” clause in the land lease agreement between the Ranchi Industrial Area Development Authority (RIADA) and the promoter, GenX Venture Capital, owned by Mumbai-based Nitin Shenoy.

“The promoter has sought the right to sub-lease the land where the mega food park is to come up. But our laws suggest that the lessee (in this case the promoters) cannot further sub-lease land given to it. We have worked out a middle path and forwarded the matter to the state,” RIADA managing director Aradhana Patnaik told The Telegraph. She added that the state administration would take a final call on the proposal soon.

Sources said prospective entrepreneurs would hold a certain percentage of shares of the parent company — i,e. GenX Venture Capital — and would be legally entitled to get land as partners.

About 56 acres of RIADA in Getalsud, on the outskirts of the capital, has been given for the food park. So far, only land levelling work has started while construction of a boundary wall is about to begin.

Sources said that the promoter had been given Rs 5 crore as the first instalment of subsidy from Union food processing ministry.

The foundation stone of the project was laid on February 23, 2009, by then Governor Syed Sibtey Razi in the presence of yoga guru Baba Ramdev (who has also pledged to set up a unit of organic biscuits) and Union food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay.

The proposed food park is expected to host a central processing unit, 12 primary processing centres and 59 field collection centres. The total project cost is pegged at Rs 114 crore, which will include a maximum grant of up to Rs 50 crore by the Union ministry of food processing. About 40 processing units was expected to ensure an investment of about Rs 200 crore and a turnover of around Rs 460 crore.

Former vice-president of Jharkhand Small Industry Association and chairman of the industry sub-committee of FJCCI Sharad Poddar said the delay was taking a toll on prospective investors as well as farmers of the region who would be benefited in many ways through this project. “I met Sahay recently and submitted a list of about 100 local investors who have shown keen interest in setting up units in the food park. I expect things to be expedited now,” he said.

Shenoy said they were looking forward to a positive response from the state on matter of land allotment to units in the proposed food park. “Once the nitty-gritty of lease agreement is finalised, we will try to honour the deadline.”