Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday scotched a rumour that CBI would question him in connection with the alleged irregularity concerning his recommendation to allocate coal block to Hindalco, a sister company of Aditya Birla Group headed by Kumar Mangalam Birla.
“No information at all has been received from the CBI for questioning or otherwise,” Patnaik said to newsmen in the evening. Patnaik clarified that keeping in mind the best interest of the State, he had written a letter to the Prime Minister indicating that Hindalco’s request for the Talabira-II coal block in the IB valley of Jharsuguda district might be examined. He said that Hindalco was setting up an aluminium smelter with a capacity of 2, 60,000 tonnes per annum at an estimated cost of Rs 11,000 crore in Sambalpur district, adjoining Jharsuguda, for which the company needed a captive power plant of 900 MW.
“The State Government gives utmost importance to mineral development in the State taking into account the abundant reserves of bauxite, iron ore and coal, since this would mean value addition in the State leading to more jobs for our people and revenue for the Government for our own development programmes,” Patnaik said.
He continued that since power was a major raw material for an aluminium project, which helped promoting value addition in the State, thereby adding to State’s revenue and generating employment, he had asked the Central Government to examine the request of Hindalco. “As per the procedure for coal block allocation, the final decision rests with the Central Government”, he said, adding the Talabira II block was allocated jointly to MCl, NIC and Hindalco in November 2005 by the Central Government.