In a move which may push South Korean steel major POSCO a step closer towards setting up its Rs 52,000 crore plant in Odisha's Jagatsinhpur district, the Mines Ministry has indicated that it would complete its review of allowing the company to explore iron ore mines in Khandadhar region of the state that would fulfill the raw material availability for the project, within a month.
The Supreme Court had last month set aside an earlier order of the Orissa High Court that had quashed the state government's recommendation seeking to allow POSCO a prospecting licence (Pl) for Khandadhar iron ore reserves, and had directed the Union Mines Ministry to review the possibilities of allowing the Pl to the company.
With the ball having been thrown back to the Centre's court, official sources told The Pioneer that the Mines Ministry is currently going through all the aspects of the Pl to be given to POSCO.
They added that the ministry would on its part complete its review of POSCO's request for a Pl to explore Khandadhar iron ore reserves within a month, so that it can move ahead with its project implementation plans.
With the Odisha Government keen on the project to take off as soon as possible, sources said that the South Korean company should not face any problems in Bhubaneswar once the Mines Ministry sends back the Pl case to the state government after completing its review.
It may be noted that Odisha Government had first recommended granting of Pl to POSCO India in 2006 to the Centre, which in turn had returned the recommendation back the same year and directed the state government to conduct hearing of all the applicants. The state was asked to submit the recommendation again after hearing all the stakeholders.
This way, the Supreme Court's May 10 directive had come as a shot in the arm for POSCO's proposed steel plant - which is billed as India's biggest Greenfield FDI project.
Though the Union Mines Ministry currently has no direct role in the implementation of the project as the ongoing land acquisition process for it involves the company and the state government, it came into the picture only after the Supreme Court asked it to review POSCO's request for a Pl to explore Khandadhar iron ore reserves.
In fact just before the Apex Court ruling, POSCO India Chairman and Managing Director Y W Yoon had met Mines Secretary R H Khwaja and immediately after the directive, senior officials of the company again met him apparently to seek fast tracking of its Pl review, sources said.
Soon after the SC ruling, POSCO had issued a statement welcoming the development and had said that “(it) will significantly help to expedite the project. We are happy that it has come at a time when there has been significant progress on the land clearance work for the project”.
This though is a small victory for the steel major which has been facing one obstacle after the other ever since the project was first envisioned in 2005 when POSCO had signed a pact with the Odisha Government for setting up the plant. Right from seeking environmental clearance for the plant to the ongoing process of acquiring land, the company has faced problems with the Environment Ministry, the National Green Tribunal as well as the local villagers and pressure groups.
As a result from the originally scheduled 12 millon tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity steel plant which was to come up in an area of 4,000 acres, it has now been downgraded to a 8 mtpa capacity plant that will come up in an area of 2,700 acres.