Naveen: Thinking big

Bhubaneswar, May 26: The standoff with anti-displacement protesters may be far from over, but that hasn?t stopped the Naveen Patnaik government from preparing a master plan for Kalinga Nagar.

The draft plan prepared by an Australian consultancy firm envisages extension of the 13,000-acre Kalinga Nagar industrial complex in Jajpur by another 10,000 acres and incorporation of 134 villages.

Almost half of the proposed 23,000 acres would be earmarked for industrial purposes. Civic infrastructure comprising a township, bus stands, hospital, airstrip, school and hotel would come up on the rest.

Around 10 mega steel plants are coming up in Kalinga Nagar, including the 6-million-tonne Tata Steel project.

The final master plan, in which Delhi?s School of Planning and Architecture and the Ahmedabad-based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology are contributing, is expected to be ready by July.

Industry sources said the ?greater? Kalinga Nagar industrial complex would help remove the roadblocks for Tata Steel, whose plans have faced opposition from local tribals.

The protests took a violent turn on January 2 when 13 tribals were killed in police firing. Since then, the key Daitari-Paradip highway has remained blocked.

Villagers of Ambagadia and Gobarghati have been protesting against Tata Steel?s proposed integrated steel complex in Kalinga Nagar on the grounds that no displacement could take place in the name of industrialisation.

?So unless Tata Steel shifts its site to a ?trouble-free? area, it can never build its plant. The master plan will make things fit in its scheme of things,? said a senior industry source.

Sanjay Chaudhry, the chief of Tata Steel?s corporate communications, declined comment on the matter. Company managing director B. Muthuraman recently assured the chief minister that Tata Steel was serious about its plans and also welcomed the state?s new rehabilitation policy.

The expansion plans are likely to face tough opposition from the local villagers.

Rabindra Jarika, a leader of the agitating tribals of Kalinga Nagar, said they would never allow expansion of the industrial complex through the acquisition of another 10,000 acres.

Civil rights activist Sudhir Patnaik described the proposal as a ?cruel joke? on the displaced. ?Instead of resolving the problems of the displaced people, the government is promoting the interests of multinationals and big industrial houses,? he held.