BJP leader Rama Chandra Panda at a Press conference here on Tuesday blamed the State Government for the delay in implementation of Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and industrial park in the Tata project area at Gopalpur preventing opportunity of employment to local youths.
He said that for a steel plant at Gopalpur, 3,000 acres of land was acquired between 1995 and 2001 in pursuance to an MoU between Tata Steel and State Government. Owing to resistance by some political elements, Tata abandoned its steel project and in 2006 announced to establish an SEZ to which both the Central and State Governments consented in 2007.
Panda said in 2010, the State Government also approved Tata’s proposal of an industrial park in the acquired land and it was decided to have a ferrochrome unit and a desalination plant and gem industry. But none of the projects has come up yet as the Government is yet to transfer title deeds of the acquired land in Tata’s favour. This is despite the fact that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation of the projects.
Meanwhile, hundreds of local youths belonging to displaced families who were trained by Tata are in financial distress and running from pillar to post for jobs, he said. He urged the Government to publish a White Paper on the current status of the Tata Gopalpur project and demanded constitution of a high-power committee under the RDC (SD) with district administration and Tata Steel to work out the proposal ensuring water, power and other infrastructural needs as the prescribed timeframe for the SEZ is going to lapse shortly.
Panda also demanded a Crime Branch inquiry into the incident of burning of woman control dealer Pranati Das by miscreants in the Rambha area of Ganjam district on Monday. The liquor mafias are running a parallel administration in the district, he said.
To a question about the possible outcome of the ensuing Parliament elections and impact of the Modi factor in the State, Panda said the Indian public has decided to cast their votes in favour of Narendra Modi, whom they want to see as next Prime Minister. In Odisha too, the BJP would win a majority of seats.
Among others BJP leader and former Ganjam Bar Association president Sisir Kumar Padhy, BJP Town president Rama Kumar Patra, BJP youth leaders Prabhat Sadangi and N Rajendra Kumar and party district secretary Giridhar Padhy were present.