South Korea steel major Posco on Friday told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi that it would not be able to set up its proposed steel plant in Odisha by 2017.
Since construction work for the Rs 52,000-crore project is yet to begin at the site near Paradip due to regulatory hurdles, completion of the project would not be possible in such a short period, it informed.
Official sources said the company has not been able to obtain forest and other clearances while its environmental clearance is valid until July 2017.
In January this year, making its stand clear on the company’s project, Union Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha had said the Posco has to take a final decision on the project.
“We are very supportive to all companies including Posco. But all have to follow all the rules and laws of the country to set up their projects,” said Sinha.
His statement indicated that the Posco has to bid for mines according to the amended Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act 2015 if it wants to run its proposed plant.
Notably, the South Korean steel company is yet to make its stand clear over the proposed steel project while the Odisha Government has urged the Prime Minister’s Office to resolve the impediments in the way of the project.
Meanwhile, South Korea Ambassador Cho Hyun met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Friday and discussed the Posco project issue with him.
Patnaik reportedly told him that since the Posco project implementation is getting delayed, South Korean companies are welcome to invest in other areas in Odisha.
Meanwhile, lok Shkati Abhiyan president Prafulla Samantara in a statement said the Posco informed the NGT its inability to complete the project by July 2017 which is a condition in the environment clearance given for the project.
Further, the Posco submitted that it is not in a position to carry on any work on the strength of this environmental clearance, he said.
Samantara had challenged this given clearance for the reduced 8-million-tonne project in 2013. The Posco was not giving any answer about its position since six months. “Today, it is cleared that the Posco has to back out (of the project),” said he.