File picture of the Posco MoU-signing ceremony

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 25: Big-ticket projects have not been able to take off in Odisha because of land acquisition problems.

A review of the progress made on 49 proposed steel projects here today showed that land acquisition had held up, among others, the projects of ArcelorMittal and South Korean steel behemoth Posco.

While there has been virtually no progress in ArcelorMittal’s proposed 12-million-tonne steel project in Keonjhar district because of local resistance to land acquisition, Posco, which is setting up a plant of same capacity in Jagatsinghpur district, has encountered similar problems. Though the state government claims to have acquired nearly 2,000 acres out of 4,040 acres required for the plant, the company is yet to take physical possession of it.

The review meeting at the state secretariat was chaired by steel and mines minister Rajani Kant Singh, who said that of the 49 projects in the steel sector only 30 had gone into production, that, too, partly. “We will talk to each company individually about their problems. The progress of the 19 companies which are yet to commence production would be monitored regularly,” he said adding that the government was in favour of peaceful industrialisation.

The review was prompted by the government’s concern over the big-ticket projects. Though Odisha so far has attracted investments to the tune of Rs 6 lakh crore in the industrial sector, the progress of many of the projects is far from satisfactory.

Only two days ago, Vedanta Alumina Limited (VAL) officials called on chief secretary Bijoy Patnaik and complained that they were not getting required support from the government. Their alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district is facing virtual closure because of raw material shortage. Steel and mines secretary Rajesh Verma said: “Besides land acquisition, providing mineral linkage to the industries is also a big challenge. We have asked the Industrial Development Corporation of Odisha Limited and Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited to submit a status report on each project.”

Sources said that 14 major companies in the state require 45,607 acres for their projects but only 14,131.9 acres have been acquired. Apart from ArcelorMittal India Limited and Posco, the companies looking for land include Sterlite Iron and Steel Company Limited, SSL Energy Limited and Welspun Power and Steel Limited.

Sources said though ArcelorMittal had signed the MoU with the government in December 2006, it is yet to submit the detailed project report. Another steel manufacturer, Uttam Galva, has so far acquired only 300 acres of its requirement of 2,000 acres at Kalinga Nagar.

London-based Vedanta Group’s Rs 50,000-crore alumina project is also on a sticky wicket. After being denied permission for mining rights on Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district, the company is battling a raw material crisis.