Chhatrapur: An ambitious project – MSME park proposed at Barpalli under Kukudakhandi tehsil in Ganjam district – has hit a roadblock due to opposition by local people against land acquisition for the park, a report said.
The state government has planned to establish an MSME park at Barpalli by March 2022 in an effort to promote small and medium industries and create scope of jobs for local people.
The park needs vast space to house micro, small and medium industries. But no land has been available in the Berhampur Industrial estate to accommodate these industries.
Meanwhile, the Kukudakhandi tehsildar has handed over 30 acres of land to the state-owned IDCO for the park. However, locals have strongly opposed the park and warned the administration against carrying out its construction work.
As a result, the groundwork for the park has failed to make any headway. Local people alleged that the land identified for the park was a pasture land in past.
The tehsil officials converted the land and handed it over to IDCO for the park, they said.
Reports said, the officials of the Kukudakhandi tehsil have identified 30 acres of land at Barpalli and leased it out to IDCO October 24, 2019, to set up the park.
As part of groundwork, the stateowned agency had undertaken construction of the compound wall for the park. However, the IDCO officials had to stop the work when a group of 40-50 people from the nearby village forcibly halted the work after pulling down the structure.
They warned the contractor against carrying forward the construction work. The villagers alleged that the administration had earlier acquired lands and converted them for establishment of educational institutions and residential colonies.
Ashok Kumar Mishra, the divisional head of IDCO in Berhampur, informed the district Collector about the development hampering the work of the project.
Mishra has urged the Collector to direct the revenue authorities to resolve the problem as soon as possible.
PNN