Hyderabad: Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Tuesday warned that the companies that have not reached the plantation target in the oil palm sector would be removed and the responsibility would be handed over to the Oil Fed in their place.

The Minister wanted the officials to ensure the targets under the oil palm farming are reached by March end and issue notices to the companies with lesser progress and also cancel the permission in wherever districts the output is low. He informed that steps would be taken as per the provisions of the Oil Palm Act, and that the permits given to Vishwatej Oil Palm Company were already cancelled and the said area was handed over to the multinational company Hindustan Unilever Limited.

The Minister asked the officials to list out the companies which have not identified land for the construction of a processing plant even after three to four years, the companies that have not reached the plantation target and handover the responsibility to the Oil Fed in their place. He directed that a target of two lakh acres should be set for oil palm cultivation for the next financial year. He also directed the Oil Fed staff to set targets and work towards achieving them. Similarly, the Director of Horticulture should ensure that private companies complete their plantations in line with the target, and conduct regular reviews and supervision.