Odisha government creating land bank for industrial allocation

NEW DELHI: The state government of Odisha is creating a 1.2 lakh acre land bank across the state for allocation to the industrial sector to avoid a repeat of the Posco fiasco. In order to cut red tape and wrangling with local issues in the land acquisition process, the state government is acquiring government land for industrial use and proposes to offer it with all facilities in place.

“It is a plug-and-play kind of model wherein the facilities related to water, power, roads and all clearances are in place. The companies need to only make the payment of base premium upfront for the land and the annual rent for rest of the 90 years (their lease),” Odisha principal secretary for industry, Sanjeev Chopra, told ET. “Odisha government has created a huge land bank and has identified areas across the state to bring under one umbrella for the industrial sector.

Already, the land bank has reached 57,655 acres. With the creation of the land bank, the industry department is looking for investment in various sectors including steel, aluminium, agro and food processing based units, apparel, IT and plastic units that will further create employment potential,” Chopra said. The government has already taken advance possession of 8,725 acres.

Out of this, 3,500 acres have been utilised so far for industrial projects. The rest 48930 acres has been reserved and state is getting enquiries from various players to set up solar units in these patches.

Another 122,428 acres of land is under consideration at various stages to bring under the land bank, Chopra said. Early September Odisha invited downstream steel and stainless steel companies to invest in the Kalingnagar National Investment & Manufacturing Zone and offered fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.

Chopra said the incentives are based on the investments and employment opportunities created by the project proponents. The industries department of Odisha had held talks with over 70 companies from Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra seeking investments from the downstream steel sector.

Odisha has presence of large steel and stainless steel players like Tata Steel, Jindal Stainless Ltd, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and Bhushan Steel that is expected to ensure raw material for the downstream metal sector like equipment manufacturing, foundries, flat/cold rolled products, fabrication, machining and precision equipment, appliances and white goods, auto components, fasteners and kitchenware in Kalinganagar.