Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has sought Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s intervention for allotment of 75 acres of land for Indian Oil’s proposed Rs 1971-crore textile project at Bhadrak.
He has threatened to shift the project in the event of ‘non-cooperation’.
Alleging that non-allocation of the land has stalled the project, Pradhan in a letter to the CM, urged him to take up the matter with concerned officials so that work can commence immediately.
“I must firmly reiterate that Indian Oil’s Polyester yarn unit at Bhadrak will revolutionize the industrial landscape of Odisha in view of immense scope for upcoming numerous MSME downstream units, offering huge employability and hence herald a new era of Bhadrak emerging as ‘Surat of the East’. Non-cooperation from the state government would deprive the state from this opportunity, which would in all likelihood, shift to a more ‘industry-friendly’ state,” he said.
The project was initiated by Indian Oil through an MOU signed on November 16, 2017 between the State Government and the Union Petroleum Ministry.
According to the Minister, in June 2018, in-principle approval was accorded to Indian Oil by IPICOL for allotment of 35 acres land at Bhadrak after a preliminary study. However, subsequent to the completion of the feasibility study, land requirement worked out to 75 acres. Thereafter, in November land use plan with project details was submitted to IPICOL for assessment of land. Queries from IPICOL were replied to by Indian Oil.
“However, I am given to understand that requisite land allocation for the textile
project is on hold for want of non-availability of approval of the textile project from
competent authority of Odisha Government,” he underlined.
Earlier in December, 2108, the Minister had accused the State Government of delay in land allocation for an IOCL bottling plant in Khurda district. In a letter to the CM, Pradhan highlighted the benefits the plant would bring to the consumers but regretted that the alleged “non-cooperation attitude” of the State Government would ultimately affect the common people of the state.
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