In a major jolt to the ‘Make in Odisha’ hype by the Naveen Patnaik Government, South Korean steelmaking giant Posco has now virtually withdrawn from its mega project near Paradip, which was touted as the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal in India.
As admitted by State Industries Minister Debi Prasad Mishra to reporters here on Saturday, the Posco has in a letter conveyed to the State Government that it is “not interested” in acquiring the 2,700 acre of land the Industrial Infrastructure Development of Odisha (Idco) as earmarked for the project.
The Posco’s missive is in response to the Idco’s letter to the company to deposit Rs82 crore for possession of the land.
The company has stated that it won’t acquire the land as its project work has not been initiated.
Minister Mishra said that in such a situation, the land meant for the Posco would be brought under the Idco’s land bank, for which Chief Minister Patnaik has given clearance.
It may be noted that the Posco and the State Government had signed an MoU as far back as in 2005 for establishment of the steel project with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore. If the project is at all set up now, the cost would definitely scale up much higher.
In a related political development in the wake of the Posco’s reluctance for the project, State Minister Damodar Rout, in whose constituency the project was planned, strongly blamed Industries Minister Mishra for not consulting him about the progress of the project.
Congress leader and leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Narasingha Mishra said that his party’s suggestion for locating the project in an area not far from the one decided by the Government was not accepted.
In fact, the Posco project failed to take off in the face of a prolonged agitation against it by locals on the ground of loss of their livelihoods from agriculture.