The Jindal Steel and Power (JSPl) would wait for the final judgement of the Supreme Court regarding the de-allocation of Utkal-B1 coal block in Angul district’s Chhendipada area.
“We have moved to the Supreme Court over the de-allocation of the Utkal B1 coal block and we are waiting for the final order of the Supreme Court. Post that, we will move forward,” JSPl Chairman Naveen Jindal said here on Thursday.
About the other pending mining lease issues in the State, he said, “All these are pending under the jurisdiction of the apex court. Once things are clear, we will take action accordingly,”
JSPl MD Subrat Ratho was also present during the media briefing after Jindal met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Notably, Utkal B1 coal block was allocated to the JSPl on September 29, 2003 on the condition that the coal mined from the block would be used exclusively to meet its requirement in the proposed captive power plants and the sponge iron plants.
Asked about its coal-to-gas project (gasification plant) at Angul, Jindal said it is expected to be commissioned by the end of this month. “As the coal block allocated for the plant was cancelled by the Ministry of Coal, my team is working on how we could move forward to feed the plant,” he said.
The coal-to-gas project is a part of the Rs21,000-crore investment that the company has made in Angul for setting up a 1.5-million tonnes per annum (mtpa) steel mill and an 810-MW power plant.
Once commissioned, this would mark the completion of the 1.5-mtpa integrated steel plant of the company in the first phase. The company has proposed to expand its steelmaking capacity at the facility to 12.5 mtpa and generate 2,600 MW of power in phases.