Though the Orissa government is quite prompt in signing a number of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with different MNCs and corporate houses for execution of different mega projects in the state, somehow due to the cumbersome procedure of the state administration in acquiring the land as well as handling issues arising out of the working in forest and non-forest land have stalled the progress of many big ticket projects like POSCO, Vedanta and Essar.
Even the companies which have started their project works at selected sites after acquiring land through due legal procedure, construction work has been stopped unnecessarily by the controversy of working in forest as well as non-forest lands.
The Orissa scenario comes as sharp contrast when compared with the industrially developed Gujarat.
The pro-industry attitude of the Gujarat government has been further given a leap forward by the National Green Tribunal through its verdict on January 10, 2012.
Last week, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) allowed the M/s OPG Power Gujarat Pvt Ltd to proceed with its project at its “own risk” to work in their site area which was stopped due to the issue of said working in forest as well as non-forest areas.
As per the para 4.4 of the guideline on Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, if a project’s (both government and non-government) land involves forest and non-forest areas, the concerned party has to get the approval from the Union government even to work in the non-forest area. This guideline was subsequently modified on March 21, 2011.
The modified law, communicated to chief secretaries of all the states, said, “The restrictions imposed regarding working in forest and non-forest area is confined only to the government projects to avoid loss likely to be caused to the public exchequer in the event the required permission is denied and project cancelled. However, the provision cannot be made applicable to the private entrepreneurs who are willing to take a risk at their own cost.”
Due to the same problem, many big tickets projects like Vedanta Aluminium Limited’s refinery project at Lanjigarh in Orissa’s Kalahandi district and Essar’s steel project at Keonjhar have been stopped by the local administration.
Not only Vedanta and Essar, construction work of some other projects have been stopped due to the same, thereby putting the industrialisation process in the state in cold storage.
“However the recent National Green Tribunal’s verdict has raised hopes in our minds that the Orissa government takes a clue from this and acts pro-actively to allow the mega projects to start their work and materialise the dream of putting the state much above on the industrial map of the country,” said a senior official of mega steel project who did not want to be quoted.