Bhubaneswar, Sept. 2: The Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers has announced to invest Rs 1,000 crore as equity participation to revive the fertiliser plant in Talcher – a move that has aroused the BJD’s suspicion.
The only fertiliser-manufacturing unit has been lying closed since 1999.
“The timing of announcement, when the state is going for urban polls, has certainly creates suspicion. It is good to hear that the plant will be revived. They have been making such announcements for the past five years. While the plant needs Rs 6,000 crore, the announcement of Rs 1,000 crore will not serve the purpose. Is the announcement political,” asked BJD vice-president and health minister Damodor Rout.
Senior Congress leader Srikant Jena, who happened to be the sole representative from the state in the Union council of ministers, heads the department of chemicals and fertilisers. Jena has been in the forefront in criticising the Naveen Patnaik government in the state.
“What had he (Jena) been doing for the past five years? We have been hearing of the plant’s revival for quite sometime,” Rout quipped.
Jena said a new company would be formed with the Coal India and GAIL as its partner to revive the Fertiliser Corporation of India’s Talcher plant. Around Rs 6,000 crore will be spent for its revival. A team will arrive at Talcher to take an assessment of the ground realities. The fertiliser plant consists of 2,700MTPD ammonia plant, 3,850MTPD urea plant, 850MTPD nitric acid plant and 1,000MTPD ammonium nitrate plant.
In March, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to revive the Talcher plant.
According to the plan, Coal India Limited will facilitate the coal availability for the project. GAIL shall prepare a detailed feasibility report on coal gasification unit and the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers will prepare the same for the fertiliser project.
During 70s, the Fertiliser Corporation of India set up the coal-based urea plant at Talcher on an experimental basis to cater to the needs of Odisha and Bengal. The plant started its production in 1980 and used to produce 600 to 700 metric tonnes of urea.
