Anantnag, Sep 17, KNT: Jammu and Kashmir’s horticulture sector is again looking for a 5,000-metric-tonne controlled-atmosphere cold store at Rambirpora in Anantnag, four years after the same-capacity facility at the same location was put to tender at an estimated cost of ₹26.71 crore.

The fresh tender floated by the Jammu and Kashmir Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation Limited (JKHPMC) seeks design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning, including construction, of a new 5,000-MT Controlled Atmosphere (CA) cold store under a greenfield project at Rambirpora. The estimated cost is ₹32.22 crore and the work period is 365 days. The latest corrigendum has extended the bid submission deadline to September 25, 2026, with bids scheduled to be opened on September 28.

Insiders who talked to the news agency Kashmir News Trust raised questions and asked what happened to the earlier project.

In July 2022, JKHPMC had invited bids for a 5,000-MT CA store at Rambirpora with an estimated value of ₹26.71 crore. The scope included site development, demolition work, foundation and a pre-engineered steel structure, besides allied buildings and equipment required for the facility. The tender went through at least four deadline extensions, with the final submission date moved to September 24, 2022.

The issue becomes more significant because JKHPMC’s own presentation to its Board in August 2022 described Rambirpora as one of two planned 5,000-MT CA stores being established by the corporation, the other being at Behrampora in Baramulla. The same presentation also referred to a 2,500-MT CA store at Dobagah, Sopore, as part of the corporation’s cold-chain infrastructure programme.

Yet the 2026 tender again describes the Rambirpora facility as a “new 5000 MT Controlled Atmosphere Cold Store under Greenfield.”

That creates a straightforward accountability question: was the 2022 project ever awarded and, if so, what became of it?

The publicly accessible tender records reviewed for this report do not establish whether the 2022 contract was awarded, whether construction began, whether any expenditure was incurred, whether the tender was cancelled or whether the project was subsequently redesigned. The available records also do not establish whether the 2026 tender represents a completely new project or a revival or re-tendering of the earlier proposal.

The financial difference is also notable. The 2022 tender carried an estimated value of ₹26.71 crore, while the present tender is valued at ₹32.22 crore, a difference of about ₹5.51 crore, or roughly 20.6 per cent. The figures alone, however, cannot establish the reason for the increase because the specifications, technical requirements and market conditions of the two tenders would need to be compared.

For apple growers, the significance goes beyond the tender figures. Controlled-atmosphere storage is intended to extend the marketing window for fruit and reduce pressure on growers to sell immediately after harvest. A project announced and tendered years earlier but still appearing as a new greenfield requirement raises questions about the time taken to create infrastructure that is intended to support growers.

The timing is particularly relevant for a horticulture-dependent economy in which post-harvest management, storage and market access directly affect growers’ ability to hold produce rather than sell during periods of market pressure.

The latest tender provides for completion within 365 days after commencement. Whether that deadline results in an operational facility will ultimately depend on the award, execution and commissioning of the project.

The stakeholders said that the horticulture authorities and JKHPMC should clarify what happened between the 2022 and 2026 tenders, whether public money was spent under the earlier proposal, whether any contract was cancelled or allowed to lapse, and why a facility described as a 5,000-MT project in 2022 is again being advertised as a new greenfield project in 2026.

Until those questions are answered, the repeated appearance of the same 5,000-MT facility in tender records leaves a four-year gap in the public record of one of J&K’s important proposed horticulture infrastructure projects. [KNT]

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