Thaindian News

Shimla, Dec 3 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh has cancelled an agreement with leading Mumbai-based winemaker Indage Vintners for its failure to start two wineries in the state for over a decade, an official said here Saturday.

“A memorandum of understanding with Himachal Indage Limited for setting up wineries in Nagwain (in Mandi district) and Pragatinagar (in Shimla district) was cancelled by the cabinet Friday,” a government spokesperson told IANS.

He said Indage officials had been given opportunities to clarify their stand for defaulting on land payment and for the abnormal delay in starting wine units but they failed to explain.

The company has in its possession 55.7 bighas (around 22.31 acres) of land at Nagwain for setting up a grape wine unit and 14.10 bighas at Pragatinagar for an apple winery.

As per the agreement signed by the government during its previous term in 2000, Indage and its foreign partner had 30 percent share each, the state government and state-run Himachal Pradesh Marketing Corporation 10 percent share each and the rest of 20 percent was with the growers.

In 2005, the then Congress government signed a new agreement under which the project was to come up in the private sector and the government withdrew its share.

The company was to make a total payment of Rs.1,00,85,479 for the Nagwain land and Rs.19,05,250 for the land at Pragatinagar. It had deposited Rs.20,17,096 for the Nagwain and Rs.5,71,575 for Pragatinagar.

Himachal Pradesh’s economy is highly dependent on horticulture, apart from hydroelectric power and tourism. The annual fruit industry worth is about Rs.2,000 crore (Rs.20 billion).

Other fruits like cherry, pear, peach, apricot, kiwi, strawberry, olive, almond and plum are also the state’s major commercial crops.