By Our Correspondent
ANGUL/BHUBANESWAR: The public hearing meeting for expansion Integrated steel plant by Jindal Steel Odisha Limited, a subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power, by 19.2 MTPA at Angul has been completed successfully at Sabhaghar Hall in Angul on Wednesday.
More than 600 people from the affected villages of the proposed project participated in the public hearing and expressed their support for the expansion of the project.
The meeting was presided by Shri Rajanikant Swain, ADM, Angul. Dr. Anup Mallik, Regional Officer of State Pollution Control Board conducted the meeting. Mr. Baitura Deep, Sub-Collector, Angul and Ms. Ishani Panda, LAO, Angul were present in the meeting.
After completion, the capacity of JSOL’s steel plant at Angul will be 25.2 MTPA which will make it the world’s largest steel plant at single location.
At the beginning, JSOL’s Head (environment) Sri Alok Sahu informed the villagers about the environmental implications of the proposed project and the mitigation measures to be adopted by the Company for maintaining a balanced ecology .
The Company will invest Rs. 1,19,952 Crore for this expansion project, he informed. After the expansion, 9400 direct employment will be generated which will include unskilled, semi-skilled from the local area & skilled personnel mainly from the local areas and from outside .
In addition, thousands of indirect employment and multiple business opportunities will be generated for the upcoming investment for project expansion
With a plantation of 7.7 lakh trees, approximately 35 percent of the total plant area will be covered under greenbelt and additional canopy coverage will be created with massive plantation in and around plant premises. The plant will have a complete Zero Effluent Discharge system, in which Industrial Effluent and water will be recycled and reused. All environmental components will be routinely monitored as per the law of the land .
All the villagers present in the meeting welcomed the expansion project but demanded for more employment to local people. Though the villagers expressed their satisfaction over the multi dimensional CSR work undertaken by the Company , they demanded more such Sustainable community development programmers in the periphery villages .
The company officials informed that very soon a multi-speciality hospital will be established by JSP Foundation, the Social Arm of the Jindal Steel & Power . The land for the hospital has already been identified and the company has applied for required permission from the government for the hospital. The company officials also informed that more CSR activities are in pipeline to address Health care, education, women empowerment, Sustainable livelihood and sports promotion.
As per the Company policy the Local people will be given more preference for employment, informed the company officials.
Mr. Susant Kumar Behera, MLA (Chhendipada); Mr. Akhaya Kumar Samant, Chairman, Angul Municipality; Mr. Agasti Behera, Nominee of Sambalpur MP participated in the public hearing meeting.On behalf of the Company Mr. Hridayeswar Jha, Executive Director, JSOL; Mr. SK Sharma,Vice President and Mr. Ashish Pandey, Vice-President were present in the meeting.
The proposed project consists of establishment of 19.2 MTPA integrated steel plant, expansion of the pellet plant from 5.0 MTPA to 26.0 MTPA and Hot Rolling Mill from 3.1 MTPA to 21.1 MTPA at Basudevpur, Panpur, Kaliakata Jungle, Kaliakata, Ramadih, Sankerjang, Sankerjang Jungle, Badakerjang, Badakerjang Jungel, Jamunda, Jamunda Jungle, Paripara and Jarada village of Banarpal and Chhendipada Block of Angul district.
The steel plant will have 5.4 MTPA DRI Plant, 11.5 MTPA Sinter Plant, 5.17 MTPA Coke Oven, 14.0 MTPA Blast Furnace, 6.0 MTPA EAF, 13.2 MTPA BOF, 1.2 MTPA Wire Rod Mill 7.5 MTPA CRM, 7200 TPD Calcination Plant, 11000 TPD Oxygen Plant, 550 Mega Watt Captive Power Plant, 0.376 MTPA Ferro Alloys Plant and 1.5 MTPA Cement Plant.
