Two public hearings were held in Keonjhar district on Thursday to clear the decks of environmental clearance for expansion of 0.127-MTPA Karakhendra steel plant of the Rungta company to upgrade it to .606 MTPA crude steel along with installation of a power plant of 121 MW and expansion of.18-MTPA Karakolha sponge iron plant with DRI plant and 22 MW power plant.
Both these plants Karakolha and Karakhendra are situated near Barbil. The people supported the expansion of the steel plants but demanded that the company undertake CSR activities to solve issues relating to environmental pollution, health, education, communication, etc. The people urged both the industries and the Government to speed up development activities in the area.
The public hearings were conducted in the presence of senior Government officials, industry representatives and community leaders.
Keonjhar PD, DRDA Dr Udhab Chandra Majhi presided over both the meetings. Regional Pollution Control Officer Puskar Behera coordinated the programme.