Rourkela MlA Dilip Ray has opined that the State Government should take appropriate measures to make Odisha self-reliant in salt production sector.
“Odisha has a vast coastline of nearly 485 km which could be explored for wind energy and salt production. Odisha consumes nearly Rs 500 crore worth of salt every year, but salt worth Rs 5 crore is produced in Odisha.
The State imports 1.60 lakh MT to meet its consumption needs. The production of salt is progressively declining in the State and the number of people employed in them is decreasing proportionately. Gujarat and other coastal States are producing much larger quantities of salt than Odisha, earning more revenues and employing more people. On the contrary, there is not a single Government sponsored salt project in the State and whatever salt was produced under cooperative societies has also come down drastically,” Ray said.
In 2014, only 10,000 MT salt was produced by cooperative societies and private sector in Odisha which further declined in 2015. This is very negligible compared to the 2.70 cr tonnes produced in the country, he said.
Ray took a dig at the State Government for havng failed to take note of the potential of the salt sector in the State. “There is no policy statement or recognition of the sector in Government’s MSME programmes. There is no concern for the people displaced by the closure of salt production units. No Government should ignore any opportunity having a revenue and employment generation potential,” asserted Ray, adding that the State Government should take necessary measures to revive salt industry in the State.