Jajpur: A sharp rise in the price of chromite ores has pushed the industrial firms to the verge of closure in Kalinganagar of this district and sparked fear of layoffs among workers, a report said.
Various industrial firms in Kalinganagar have been closed down due to rise in chromite ore price. The plant owners have blamed the sharp rise in raw material price as the prime reason for the shutdown of their plants.
A few of the plants that are still in operation are staring at closure. The threat of closure has sparked fear among workers who think they may lose their jobs. Plants like JJ Ispat, Rohit Ferrotech, Mesco Steel, Maithan and Nilachal Ispat Nigam have closed down their plants.
The Kalinganagar Silpa Mahasangh has attributed the shutdown of plants to the sharp rise in chromite ore price. The Mahasangh has forwarded a memorandum to the Chief Minister seeking his immediate intervention.
The industrial firms were hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The sharp rise in chromite ore price has pushed them into deeper problems when they were already battling the slump caused by the pandemic.
The ferrochrome firms dependent on the chromite ores supplied by the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) have halted production in their plants. This is because these firms find it difficult in to participate in the bids.
The floor prices of the chromite ores are fixed arbitrarily. The Mahasangh members alleged that OMC has failed to arrive at any solution despite repeated requests.
The Mahasangh members, in their memorandum to the Chief Minister, said OMC, while determining the chrome price, overlooks the contemporary market price of the chrome products in the international market. The OMC arbitrarily fixes the floor price of chromite ores based on the advice of the consultancy firm KPMG.
They alleged that the OMC has missed the opportunity to liquidate the stockpiles of the ores due to a wrong formula and price set by the KPMG.
The mining corporation and the state exchequer have suffered huge losses due to lower dispatches of chrome ore. They have requested the OMC to revise the formula as suggested by the Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC).
The PWC had suggested fixing the floor price of chrome ores at Rs 13,457 per tonne. However, the OMC had fixed the floor price at Rs 16,527 in the bidding process held in April 23, this year.
It has also urged the OMC not to add additional royalty to the floor price of the chrome ores. The floor price of the chrome ore is linked to ferrochrome price, said the industries’ body.
The Mahasangh has requested the state government and the OMC to revise the chrome ore price formula and protect the interests of the endusers.
The Mahasangh had earlier urged the OMC to fix the floor price of the chrome ores at Rs 12,214 per tonne. However, their pleas have been ignored.
PNN
