Date:27/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/27/stories/2007052707340400.htm

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Karnataka - Bangalore

State to set up two wine parks

T.S. Ranganna and Nagesh Prabhu

They will come up in Chickaballapur and Bijapur on 200 acres of land each

A sum of Rs. 25 crore will be invested in each park

Incentives will be offered for the setting up of units

T.S. Ranganna

and Nagesh Prabhu

BANGALORE: The State Government has decided to establish 200-acre wine parks in Chickaballapur and Bijapur with the twin objectives of increasing the area under grape cultivation and producing good wine. A sum of Rs. 25 crore will be invested on each park.

The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board will acquire the land needed for the parks, which will be established as a public-private partnership. Twenty wineries have expressed interest in setting units in the parks, a senior official in the Horticulture Department said on Friday.

The Government has liberalised the licensing system to attract investors to the wine parks, particularly from Maharashtra, which is a major wine-producing State. The licence fee has been fixed at Rs. 5,000, while it is a whopping Rs. 6 lakh in Maharashtra. The Government will also provide infrastructure such as roads, electricity, drinking water and drainage in the parks.

Those who want to set up wineries can obtain a licence by applying to the Deputy Commissioner's office. Licences will be issued within 30 days of submission of the application.

The Government announced a new wine policy this year. The grape-growing districts of Bangalore Rural and Urban and Kolar have been named "Nandi Valley" while Bijapur, Bagalkot and Belgaum districts have been named "Krishna Valley".

Wine Board

The Government has constituted a Wine Board for the inspection and regulation of grape quality, framing rules, maintaining the quality of wine, approving labels, conducting research, exhibitions and fairs and taking grape growers and others connected with the industry to wineries in India and abroad to create marketing facilities.

The 10-member Board is headed by D. Venkateswara Rao, Principal Secretary, Horticulture Department. Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy will nominate three experts in the field of wine production to the Board, sources said.

A sum of Rs. 25 crore has been sanctioned to the Board by the Horticulture Department (Rs. 10 crore), the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Processing and Export Corporation (Rs. 8 crore) and the Karnataka Breweries Corporation (Rs. 7 crore).

Incentives

Grape growers will be offered incentives to set up wine production and processing units.

About 9,700 hectares is under grape cultivation in the State, and the estimated annual production is 1.67 lakh tonnes. Besides the "valley" districts, farmers grow grapes in Koppal, Chikmagalur and Mysore districts. The State produces three major varieties of grapes: Thomson Seedless, Anab-e-Shahi Dilkush and Bangalore Blue.

In order to promote the concept of wine tourism in the grape growing regions, wineries will be allowed to sell wine to tourists who visit the facility.

Bangalore is the third largest market for wine in India after Mumbai and Delhi.