Reliance Industries Rs 5,000 crore farm-to-fork project in vain

The Punjab government has justified the decision to terminate Reliance Industries Ltd's Rs 5,000 crore farm-to-fork project, saying the venture was not economically viable in the state, besides which Reliance did not take any initiative to launch the project, for which an MoU was signed in 2006 by the previous Congress government. According to the agreement, the company had proposed to develop farm infrastructure, including cold storage, logistics etc, with an initial outlay of Rs 500 crore and plans to scale it up to Rs 5,000 crore. The government had, in return, agreed to allot over 1,000 acres of land to Reliance Industries at a concessional rate. However, the government has said that Reliance is welcome to bring any viable project in the state.

Did the government actually make the right choice in turning down this project as this would have definitely been a great method for Reliance to have sourced produce items very cheaply and would have been able to make great strides in the retail segment with its reduced costs. However owing to public outcry and an ill-prepared Reliance the project has been scrapped. Could this project have been saved in any way such that it wouldn't hurt the middlemen and Reliance Industries?