Protests to JSW project come as surprise at Odisha's Dhinkia

BHUBANESWAR: Disruption of the coordination committee meeting for JSW integrated steel plant held at Dhinkia on Sunday has raised several questions even as the proposed project promises to generate employment for around 45,000 people. Not just huge employment, the project also has immense potential for value addition of minerals from within the State and can improve the socio-economic situation of the district.

The JSW Group has proposed to establish the 13.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) capacity plant at an estimated investment of around Rs 55,000 crore at Dhinkia. Not a single household from the village is going to be displaced because of the project which is why the protests have come as a surprise.

The protests against the JSW project have brought back memories of the POSCO steel plant plan which was eventually abandoned because of agitation. With interests groups again at work against the JSW project, it is apprehended that opposition to big ticket projects has a pattern to it.

Protests could disrupt revival of industrial activities including additional opportunities from ancillary and downstream industries. Odisha is a major supplier of raw materials to other states. Though it is is richly endowed with mineral resources, only a minuscule percentage of this resource undergoes value addition within the State. Official sources say 20 percent of the iron ore shipment is exported. While 41 per cent is dispatched towards industries within the State, 39 per cent is routed to industries outside Odisha.

In such a scenario, analysts say, timely exploration and subsequent value addition is essential. Projects face opposition but continuous dialogue with the people should be the norm to resolve the problems and establish the projects in a stipulated time frame.