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Fertiliser Corporation of India in Sindri, Dhanbad. File Picture
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Ranchi, Feb. 13: The state government has taken strong exception to the Centre’s move to transfer Fertiliser Corporation of India land in Sindri to SAIL.
Land revenue minister Mathura Prasad Mahto will chair a meeting in Dhanbad on February 16 to review the current status of plots allotted to the fertiliser major. The state government is of the opinion that the Centre cannot take a unilateral decision in this regard and the states where land is available ought to play a role in the proceedings.
“The law clearly states that land allotted to industrial houses ought to be used for that particular purpose. If the industry has closed down, the land should be returned to the state government. We will decide what should be done with that land,” Mahto told The Telegraph.
The crucial meeting in Dhanbad will be held in the district collectorate. It will be presided over the by the minister himself. Senior officials of the land revenue department, the custodian of the defunct fertiliser unit, and the Dhanbad deputy commissioner too will participate.
The Centre’s cabinet committee on economic affairs resolved to allot the Fertiliser Corporation land in Sindri on nomination basis on August 8 last year.
The SAIL proposal involved investments to the tune of Rs 35,000 crore by way of setting up a 5.6 million metric tonne per annum greenfield steel plant, a 1.15 million metric tonne annum fertiliser plant and power plant involving investments to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.
Several other industrial giants, including ArcelorMittal, who have already inked mega investment proposals in Jharkhand, too have been eyeing the infrastructure available in Sindri. The unit was the country’s maiden fertiliser plant after Independence, which was run by the government. For the first 10 to 15 years after Independence, every important foreign dignitary visiting India was brought to visit Sindri. The Centre officially decided close down the plant in 2002.
A lion’s share of the land allotted to Fertiliser Corporation of India in Sindri belonged to Scheduled Tribes. During the initial years, production was repeatedly hit due to stiff resistance from tribals. Ultimately, Shibu Soren’s father Shobaran Soren intervened at the behest of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, normalising the situation.
Meanwhile, after the Dhanbad meeting, Mahto will chair another meeting in the coal capital to review the status of land, especially government land, being used by BCCL.
The minister said he expected the coal company to pay land revenue taxes for the land they were using. In fact, Mahto had attended meetings with the coal company in recent months over the issue, but to no avail. The senior executives of the companies had argued that as per coal bearing law, it was not imperative on their part to pay taxes.
“The Centre only has ownership rights over coal reserves underneath the ground. If a ryati land is being acquired for mining purposes, the landowner is entitled to compensation. But, the state government is not being given anything in lieu of its land. This is injustice to Jharkhand. These apart, several collieries have closed down over the years. These lands ought to be returned to the state government,” Mahto added.
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