The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : Water new hurdle to industrialisation drive

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Monday, Nov 12, 2007
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Water new hurdle to industrialisation drive

Bhubaneswar: The industrialisation process in Orissa which has attracted investment proposals worth over Rs four lakh crore, was facing a new problem, water.

After land and mines, it was water that emerged a major hurdle before the Government to implement several projects, officials in the Industries Department said.

“The recent farmers’ agitation in western Orissa has come as a major headache for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who immediately announced several measures to assure farmers that no one could divert water meant for irrigation,” a senior official of the department said.

While opposition of local people to land acquisition process had already delayed implementation of Posco project in Jagatsinghpur, the district officials in Keonjhar were also worried about arranging land for Arcelor-Mittal’s 12 mtpa greenfield project.

This apart, the land acquisition for Tata Steel’s six mtpa project at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur had sparked a nationwide protest following killing of some people in police firing last year.

The people of Sundergarh district led by BJP’s national vice-president and MP Jual Oram were also agitating against the State Government’s move to sanction prospective licence (PL) to Posco for mining at Khandadhar iron ore reserve.

Similarly, Vedanta Alumina Limited is also facing local people’s ire over mining bauxite at Niyamgiri hills, considered “eco-fragile”.

Worried over agitation against land acquisition and mining, steel giant Arcelor-Mittal has sought a tie-up with the State-owned Orissa Mining Corporatoion (OMC) to ensure uninterrupted raw material linkage, a senior official said.

Official sources said proposals for at least 10 major industries including some power units could not materialise unless they drew water from Hirakud reservoir.

The industries which would be affected if water supply from Hirakud was denied, include Bhusan Steel, Vedanta Alumina Limited, Mahanadi Coalfield, Posco, a cement manufacturing unit, a paper unit and many small units.

PTI

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