Bhubaneswar, Aug 3 (FN Representative) A mega steel plant will be established in the mineral-rich Keonjhar district in Odisha, official sources here on Saturday said. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi directed the officials to take expeditious steps for establishing a mega steel plant in Keonjhar at a review meeting held on the progress of the industries in the state. A Task force will be constituted under the chairmanship of state Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja to hold discussions with the interested business houses for setting up of a mega steel plant in Keonjhar.
The Chief Minister said despite being rich in minerals ,no steel plant has been set up in Keonjhar district which also has all infrastructures of land, water , electricity and communication besides mineral resources. Majhi asked the officials to initiate all necessary steps to set up a mega steel plant in the district. He also asked the officials to give top priority on labour intensive industries such as textile and food processing in the state stating that the government had set a target to provide 3.5 lakh employment in the next five years. Presenting a picture of the industrial scenario in Odisha, Principal Secretary Industries Hemant Sharma said the state had received applications for establishing 989 industries in the state since 2016 of which 674 industrial projects have been approved by the single window clearance authority of the state government.
Sharma said of the 674 approved industrial projects, land has been allotted to 352 projects and work has started for 183 projects while 74 industrial projects have already been established and started operation. The Industries Secretary further said the state has received 12 foreign investment proposals and efforts are on by the Industry department to execute 41 important investment proposals in the state. Besides the state Chief Secretary, the review meeting was attended by among others Minister Industries Sampad Charan Swain, Additional Chief Secretary to the CMO Nikunja Bihari Dhal, Finance Secretary Saswat Mishra, and IPICOL Managing Director Bhupender Singh Punia.