Bhubaneswar: Jindal Steel Works (JSW)’s proposed Integrated Steel Plant at Erasama in Jagatsinghpur district will pave the way for development of the region and create jobs for locals, state government officials said.
The proposed plant will be spread over five villages — Dhinkia (Jogisahi), Dhinkia (Patana), Gobindpur, Polang and Nuagaon.
“Industry and development are not two mutually exclusive concepts,” said Amresh Naresh Samant, an environmentalist from Paradip. “With the world springing into action post COP26, steelmakers such as JSW operate within stringent environment frameworks to contain their carbon footprints,” he added.
Officials said industry is the only answer for development of the region.
Erasama has roughly 44 per cent of its total area under cultivation and irrigation facility is poor, covering only 12 per cent of land in the Kharif season. Rabi crop is non-existent.
“In general, majority of households believe that the project will generate employment opportunities in the vicinity by creating various non farm-based jobs and improve access to health and education facilities,” said Santosh Mohanty from Patana village.
Officials said that fears among betel vine cultivators and workers engaged in betel cultivation on loss of livelihood because of the integrated steel project were unfounded. Betel vines are not as remunerative as before and the future of betel business is set for a downward spiral, they added.
According to officials, over the past decade, prawn cultivation by outsiders has replaced traditional fishing and agricultural practices at the project site. This has already hit the livelihood of local people and caused contamination of groundwater, water scarcity and saline ingress over cultivable land.
Most villagers in the area work as daily-wage labourers in gheris and neighboring industries, they point out. The government believes the steel plant will open new avenues of employment for the local people.
According to the government, with a mega project, there will be huge demand for workers for raw material handling, civil works, security, tree plantation, restaurants and transport services, which will mainly benefit the locals.
