Parliament Question: Shortage of cold chain facilities and refrigerated vehicles in Maharashtra

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 880 ANSWERED ON 06TH FEBRUARY, 2026 SHORTAGE OF COLD CHAIN FACILITIES AND REFRIGERATED VEHICLES IN MAHARASHTRA 880. SMT. SUNETRA AJIT PAWAR: Will the Minister of FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES be pleased to state: (a) whether Government is aware that there is shortage of cold chain facilities and refrigerated vehicles in Maharashtra for perishable crops such as grapes, oranges, and onions, leading to significant annual economic losses; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the current status of integrated cold chain projects sanctioned in Maharashtra under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana(PMKSY) during the last three years, and the details of the funds allocated for the same; and (d) the details of Government’s future action plan for the effective implementation of ‘Operation Greens’ in the State and for increasing cold storage capacity at the farm- gate level? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI RAVNEET SINGH) (a) & (b): No study has been conducted by Ministry to assess shortage of cold chain facilities and refrigerated vehicles in Maharashtra for perishable crops such as grapes, oranges, and onions. (c): Details of cold chain projects sanctioned during last 3 years under the component schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY), along with funds approved, released and their status of implementation are given at Annexure. (d): Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing a central sector umbrella scheme called Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) since 2017-18 across the country. Under Operation Greens component of PMKSY scheme, the Ministry is providing financial assistance at the rate of 35% of the eligible project cost for projects in General Areas, and 50% for projects in Difficult Areas, as well as for projects involving SC/ST, FPOs (Farmer Producer Organizations), and SHGs (Self-Help Groups) for value chain development of 10 fruit crops, 11 vegetable crops and shrimp in the identified production clusters. The production clusters for these crops are identified based on the horticultural production data provided by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, in consultation with the Horticulture Departments of the respective states. Maharashtra has been identified as production cluster for Mango, Banana, Kinnow/ Mandarin, Grapes, Pomegranate, Onion & Ginger. Scheme is demand driven in nature, creation of facilities for processing and preservation of these perishable fruit and vegetable crops including cold storage capacity at the farm-gate level is assisted under the scheme. However, setting up of stand-alone cold storage facilities is not assisted under the Operation Greens scheme. *****ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (c) OF RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 880 ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026 REGARDING ‘SHORTAGE OF COLD CHAIN FACILITIES AND REFRIGERATED VEHICLES IN MAHARASHTRA’ Details of cold chain projects sanctioned during last 3 years under the component schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY): A. The status of projects approved under Cold Chain Scheme under PMKSY: Financial Number of Number of Number of Project Cost Approved Released Year Approved Ongoing Completed (₹ in Crore) Grants-in- Grants-in- Projects Projects Projects Aid (₹ in Aid (₹ in Crore Crore) 2022-23 4 3 1 211.68 32.51 22.27 2023-24 9 9 0 318.79 67.24 20.41 2024-25 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 13 12 1 530.47 99.75 42.68 B. The status of projects approved under Operation Greens Scheme under PMKSY: Financial Number of Number of Number of Project Cost Approved Released Year Approved Ongoing Completed (₹ in Crore) Grants-in- Grants-in- Projects Projects Projects Aid (₹ in Aid (₹in Crore Crore) 2022-23 2 1 1 59.68 16.50 13.16 2023-24 2 0 2 40.05 14.50 4.48 2024-25 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 4 1 3 99.73 31.00 17.64 *****