Cuttack, Feb. 6: With the Supreme Court upholding Orissa High Court’s verdict on Tangarpada mines lease, the fate of the chromite reserves in Dhenkanal has come a full circle.

The Naveen Patnaik government is left with Hobson’s choice of either going for fresh tender to lease out the mines or drop it completely. Exploration and development of Tangarpada chromite reserves have not been possible for over two decades. Reasons: the idle attitude of Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa Limited and legal wrangle since 2003 over leasing out 500 acres of land for a joint-venture.

Though the state industrial corporation was granted lease of Tangarapada mines in 1986, it failed to sow anything there in the next six years. Subsequently, the government, through the corporation, floated a global tender and awarded Jindal Strips Limited the lease for a joint-venture project envisaging exploration, extraction and value addition to ore at Tangarapada. The government came in October 2003. But the project made no headway as the high court clamped an interim injunction till disposal of writ petitions filed by VISA Industries and Tisco challenging the government’s decision.

Later, in November 2004, the high court quashed the decision granting Tangarpada lease to Jindal Strips Limited stating that the government granted approval “in a most mechanical manner without applying its mind to the relevant facts”. The high court had pointed out that the officials of the industrial corporation had not considered the effect of incentives and exemptions claimed by Jindal Strips on the state exchequer.

The observations of the apex court was based on Orissa High Court’s remark: “If exemption is granted to Jindal Strips for 20 years in respect of sales tax and entry tax, the governments would lose revenue to the extent of Rs 20,000 crore over 20 years.”

The impasse had since persisted as Jindal Strips moved the Supreme Court against the verdict. Finally on Tuesday, the apex court upheld the high court verdict — to go in for fresh tenders.