A day after ArcelorMittal scrapped its Rs 50,000-crore steel plant project in Odisha, the State Government on Thursday said the project was a "nonstarter" and the company was "never really interested" in setting up the plant.
ArcelorMittal failed to meet major milestones though it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government in 2006, Steel and Mines Minister Rajani Kant Singh said.
In a major jolt to the State’s industrialisation drive, the world's largest steelmaker on Wednesday scrapped its project at Patna in Keonjhar district citing inordinate delay in acquisition of land and securing of iron ore linkages.
Singh said ArcelorMittal failed to take initiatives in achieving milestones or carrying out any corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme. Identifying land for the project was the company’s task, but it lagged on that front and the impression with the Government was that it was "not interested".
At the same time, the company had promised plenty of jobs, but it failed to take any initiative on that front as well, Singh said.
Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra asserted that ArcelorMittal’s announcement of pulling out from its Rs 50,000-crore steel project would not impact other industrial projects which are operational or in pipeline in the State.
He said that since ArcelorMittal has officially intimated not to renew its MoU, the chapter between the State Government and ArcelorMittal is closed for the time being.
On the other hand, the company claimed that since the announcement of the project, it had completed important milestones such as the completion of a feasibility report, an environmental impact assessment study and other relevant technical reports. Besides, it also held eight Gram Sabhas and invested in a number of CSR projects.
ArcelorMittal Executive Vice-President and member, Management Committee, CEO of India and China Vijay Bhatnagar said, "Over the last seven years, we have invested considerable resources into this project."