Thaindian News

Shimla, April 3 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh is considering action against Mumbai-based leading winemaker Indage Vintners for its failure to start two wineries in the state’s apple heartland for over a decade, a minister said here Sunday.

The company has also failed to pay for the prime land provided to it by the state for setting up the wineries, he said.

“We have given an opportunity to Indage officials to clarify their stand for defaulting on land payment and for the abnormal delay in starting the apple and grape wine units,” Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta told IANS.

ompany officials are meeting the horticulture department officials in this regard in Shimla Monday, he added.

The government has already issued two show-cause notices to the company.

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

As per the agreement signed by the government during its previous term in 2000, Indage and its foreign partner have 30 percent share each, the state government and state-run Himachal Pradesh Marketing Corporation 10 percent share each and the rest of 20 percent is 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 only 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 has so far deposited Rs.20,17,096 for the Nagwain and Rs 5,71,575 for Pragatinagar.

Officials of the horticulture department said the government is now thinking about cancelling the agreement with the company.

“We are even ready to move the court to get back the land,” Bragta said.

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).

The state is one of India’s major apple-producing regions, with over 200,000 families engaged in its cultivation. Other fruits like cherry, pear, peach, apricot, kiwi, strawberry, olive, almond and plum are also the state’s major commercial crops.