Shillong, Feb 2: Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Wednesday informed that the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) under Saffron Bowl project has identified a few locations in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation.

He said in Arunachal Pradesh, there is a good growth of organic saffron with flowers while in Meghalaya, sample plantations were grown at Cherrapunji, Mawsmai and Lalingtop sites.

The total cost of the whole project is Rs. 17.68 lakhs for Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. Out of which, a tentative amount of Rs 6 lakh has been earmarked for Barapani (Meghalaya) site.

The sites identified in Meghalaya under the said project include Barapani, Cherrapunji, Mawsmai, Shillong, and Lalingtop.