Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 7: South Korean steel giant Posco is likely to clear its stand regarding setting up of Rs 52,000 crore steel plant in the state by February this year as National Green Tribunal has directed the steel major to clear the air on this issue.
Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Kumar Mallick said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked Posco to make its stand clear regarding establishment of the proposed integrated steel project at Paradip soon.
As per sources, the NGT’s direction has come after hearing a case on Posco project, which is in limbo for close to a decade now due to local opposition and a host of other factors. Officials of the South Korean firm have sought some time from the tribunal to take a call on this matter.
The minister said that the next hearing of the tribunal would be on February 3. Mallick, moreover, said that there had been no communication between the company and the state government in the recent time. Posco India had entered into an MoU with the state government in 2005 to set up a 12-million tonne per annum integrated steel plant (ISP) in Jagatsinghpur district. Earlier, the company had closed its corporate office in the city and had exited from Haridashpur-Paradip railway project, which has given an impression that the company may pull out of the project.
