Paradip: Conflicting claims by the state and Union governments on land allotment to Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in this port town of Jagatsinghpur district has sparked a controversy, a report said. The Paradip Port, a Central government undertaking, in a letter (No. 408, dated February 11) claimed to have allotted 234.14 acre land to NRL on lease for 30 years. However, the Odisha government owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (IPICOL) has said that only 202 acre land has been allotted to NRL.
Reports said NRL is establishing a refinery in Paradip Port region as part of Smart Industrial Port City (SIPC) project. Three other projects are also coming up along with NRL. These projects are: Triveni Earthmovers Pvt Ltd, Essar Minmet India Ltd and Container Corporation of India (Concor). Sources from IPICOL said that funds to the tune of Rs 11,579.51 crore will be spent on establishment of these projects.
However, the disparity in data regarding land allotment to NRL has raised many eyebrows. The data mismatch is also reported in cases of industrial firms like Triveni, Essar and Concor.
As per the letter, NRL has been allotted 234.14 acre land on a 30-year lease for which the NRL has paid Rs 70.59 crore to Paradip Port. The land is on Plot no-37 and 45, khata no-27 in Sandhakuda mouza near the port town.
On the other hand, the state-owned IPICOL issued a letter (No-637, dated March 31) where it claimed to have issued 202 acre land to NRL. The project received the approval of a high-level clearance authority (HLCA) January 6, 2021.
The refinery when established will have the capacity to store 6 lakh kilolitre of crude oil. This crude oil will be transported through underground pipelines to the NRL refinery plant at Guwahati in Assam. The project worth Rs 1,420 crore will generate over 200 jobs.
The HLCA has issued 33 types of clearances for the project. This includes clearance from SPCB, Factories and Boilers department, Idco, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Ltd, power, drinking water and other clearances.
Earlier, it was the practice by the government to make an environment impact assessment of any project which is going to be established.
Separate meetings were held for palli sabha, gram sabha and public hearings. However, the state government has now introduced easy single window clearance system to facilitate establishment of industries without any hassles. However, observers are apprehensive about the outcome of the move. They claim that only time will tell how far the move will benefit the project affected people.
When contacted, NRL’s Paradip branch head Bikash Das said, “We have received 234.14 acre of land from the government.” However, he did not have the details of other clearances.