Odisha is stepping up efforts to make the Deras Seafood Park a fully operational centre for marine processing and exports, with Chief Secretary Anu Garg asking officials to address stalled projects and ensure that existing infrastructure is put to use.
The direction came during Garg's inspection of the Deras area on Wednesday, where she reviewed the functioning of the seafood park and interacted with seafood exporters and senior officials. The discussions focused on the practical hurdles facing businesses, including processing facilities, common infrastructure, working capital and export logistics.
The administration is now looking beyond the creation of industrial infrastructure and focusing on its actual utilisation.
Garg directed officials to prepare a clear status report covering the different stages of development at the park. The exercise will identify plots that have already been allotted, units currently operating, facilities that are under construction and projects that are still at the planning stage.
She also called for steps to revive facilities that have remained inactive.
The Chief Secretary stressed that the park's common infrastructure must work efficiently and that basic services should support uninterrupted industrial activity. Units that have already received allotments are also expected to move towards commencing operations.
The larger aim is to establish Deras as an integrated marine-processing cluster rather than leave it as a collection of industrial plots and facilities at different stages of use.
During the interaction at the park, seafood exporters discussed issues affecting their operations with the administration. Processing constraints, common facilities, access to working capital and the logistics required for exports were among the matters considered.
The government has indicated that resolving such operational issues will be necessary if the park is to reach full-scale activity.
The inspection was attended by senior officials, including Principal Secretary, Water Resources, Shubha Sarma; Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) Managing Director Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma; Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Fisheries and Animal Resources, Prem Chandra Choudhary; and IDCO Managing Director D. Prashant Kumar Reddy.
The Chief Secretary's visit covered another development at Deras: the Centre of Excellence on Horticulture, also known locally as the Udyan Krishi Utkarsh Kendra.
The centre is being used to demonstrate modern cultivation techniques and diversified farming. Its facilities include protected cultivation under shade nets, a papaya nursery and plantations of nearly seedless VNR Bihi papaya, dragon fruit and red banana.
A 10-metric-tonne solar-powered cold store is also part of the facility.
Officials briefed Garg on technology-based farming practices, crop diversification and efforts to promote more sustainable agriculture. They also outlined programmes designed to build farmers' capacity and expose them to modern cultivation methods.