Sambalpur: A day after Orissa Post carried a report on the proposed ethanol bio refinery plant at Deogaon in Sambalpur, Redhakhole MLA and Deputy Chief Whip of the government Rohit Pujari and former district BJD president Pramod Rath opposed the move Sunday. The plant is being built by a Delhi-based company. They talked to Maneswar tehsildar over the phone and asked the latter to stall the process to allocate land to the company.
“Locals will face a lot of problems. Pollution will increase in the area due to the plant. We will oppose the construction of the factory. The management of the company is trying to grab land of the poor people through some local middlemen. We will not allow that to happen,” Pujari fumed.
“Farmlands will not be spared for the factory. People here solely depend on farming. We are with the people. The state government is promoting agriculture and farmers through lift irrigation and mega irrigation projects,” Pujari added.
Pujari warned that after the lockdown, people will stage protests in front of the district collector’s office. He will also be intimated about the issue, Pujari said.
It was learnt that a private company based in Delhi has identified 40 acres of land in Maneswar area to set up the plant which will manufacture bio fuel from paddy straw. The company has, meanwhile, applied at the tehsil for land measurement and acquisition. The process has slowed down due to the Covid-19 situation.
Local farmers accused the company of setting its eyes on agricultural land. They said the administration is helping the company set up the plant. However, when the locals will suffer due to pollution, there will be no one from the administration to help out.
PNN
