Public Hearing: Villagers’ Nod For JSW Utkal Steel’s Proposed Plant In Odisha’s Sundargarh

Sundargarh: JSW Utkal Steel’s proposed plant in Odisha’s Sundargarh district received environmental clearance at a public hearing held on Monday.

Around 2,000 villagers attended the public hearing which was jointly conducted by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Sundargarh district administration for environment clearance for the company’s iron ore beneficiation plant in Kolmong of the district.

The company has proposed to establish 50 MTPA iron ore beneficiation/de-sliming plant, 30 MTPA grinding plant and 30 MTPA slurry transportation system. Around 70 villagers expressed their opinion in the forum and supported the project which would generate employment opportunities for about 300 local people.

Speaking at the forum, Ashesh Kumar Padhy, Head, Projects (Odisha) JSW Steel Limited, said, “The local transporters would not be affected by the laying of slurry pipes as only lower grade iron ore fines will be transported through pipeline for maximising resource utilization.” The higher grade ore and iron lumps will be transported as usual on road, he added.

Former MLA Bhimsen Choudhary and community influencer Anand Barik said the future of people in the region is set to change for good with JSW foraying into the locality.

The company officials assured the villagers of fulfilling their demand in phased manner. “We will ensure local employment based on their eligibility for the project across various domains. There are 300 direct and outsourced employment opportunities in the project,” said BRK Padhi, Head, Mines.

Sundargarh ADM Shiv Shankar Toppo and Rourkela SPCB RO BB Dash were also present.