Fertiliser plant revival, BJP’s poll game: Srikant Jena

BHUBANESWAR: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for revival of the fertiliser plant at Talcher on Saturday, the Congress on Sunday criticised the BJP led NDA Government at the Centre for deliberately delaying the project for four years and launching it now in view of the general elections next year.

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“The NDA Government delayed the project, which was started during the UPA tenure and now the Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone in view of the elections next year,” former Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers and senior Congress leader Srikant Jena told mediapersons here.

Jena, the chairman of the manifesto committee of the State Congress, said work for the revival of the plant had already started in 2013 during the UPA regime. There has been a price escalation of `4000 crore because of the delay, he said.

Former Union minister and chairman of the campaign committee Bhakta Charan Das said revival of the Talcher fertiliser plant was the dream project of the UPA Government. Questioning the commitment of the BJP led Government at the Centre to the project, Das said it will be completed after UPA returns to power again this time.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on December 6, 2013, Jena, then minister for chemicals and fertilisers, had said the Coal India Limited (CIL), Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Limited (RCFL), GAIL (India) Limited along with Fertiliser Corporation of India Limited (FCIL) had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 5, 2013 to revive the unit which was closed down in 2000. The project promoters RCFL, GAIL, CIL and FCIL would decide among themselves for two joint venture companies JV-I and JV-2, Jena said.  

JV-I will be primarily responsible for setting up the upstream coal gasification and gas purification section on lump sum turnkey basis. The JV-2 will be responsible for setting up ammonia-urea, nitric acid-ammonium nitrate plants.

Jena said pre-project activities had already been taken up to facilitate preparation of detailed feasibility report (DFR). The overall project cost was estimated at Rs 9000 crore, he said and added that the revival was expected to create 760 job opportunities.

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The former Union minister alleged that after delaying the project for four years, the Prime Minister is now trying to take credit for revival of the plant.