Junagad: Three years have passed since Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid foundation stones for three developmental projects – parboiled rice mill, biomass power project and integrated grain-based distillery— at Gouda Sargiguda in Junagarh block of Kalahandi district. However, no progress has been made in these regards so far.
As per reports, the state government had cleared the proposals of Rourkela-based Starlight Energy Limited to set up an integrated grain-based distillery unit along with a parboiled rice mill and a power plant at Gouda Sargiguda in the district. Later, November 16, 2016, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the unit.
A ray of hope spread among the locals of the district who had lost their jobs after closure of the sugar mill.
Notably, to make Kalahandi an industrialised district, the state government allowed a sugar mill company to set up its unit 22 years ago. The Western Odisha Sugar and Chemical Ltd, owned by a Maharashtra-based company, established its sugar mill in 1997 but after five years of its production, the mill was closed due to loan burden and liquidation.
Then came Rourkela-based Starlight Energy Limited which purchased 91.4 acres land of the sugar mill with a purpose to start new projects by replacing the defunct unit.
Starlight had proposed to set up an automatic parboiled rice mill having 48 MT per hour capacity, a biomass power plant with two turbines having 3 MW power generation each and an integrated grain-based distillery unit for preparation of ethanol from broken rice and maize on the premises of the defunct sugar mill.
“Locals of adjacent Goud Sargiguda, Mathura and Palas villages are waiting patiently to get job in the proposed plants,” said Biranchi Panda, a resident of Mathura village.
PNN
