BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has sought the intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for expeditious allotment of land for LPG bottling plant of Indian Oil Corporation Limited in Khurda district. Expressing concern over the delay in allotment of land for the project, Pradhan in a letter to the Chief Minister said an estimated investment of `150 crore is getting delayed due to non-cooperation of the State Government.
“It is understood that the concept of single window clearance has been implemented by the Government for encouraging investments in the State. However, it is regretted that this mechanism appears to be non-functional in the case of IOCL’s land acquisition for Khurda bottling plant,” the letter said.
Pradhan said an estimated investment of Rs 150 crore is getting delayed for past 19 months, even after full and final payment made by the oil major for 32 acres of land of Shree Jagannath Temple Trust (SJTT).
Noting that SJTT had offered IOCL 32 acre land on outright sale basis in March 2016 for constructing a new LPG bottling plant at Somnathpur village in Khurda district, the letter said IOCL deposited the entire amount of Rs 28.8 crore on March 30, 2017.
The demarcation of land was carried out in December 2017 by SJTT and IOCL was informed about it. However, the land has not yet been handed over to IOCL despite repeated reminders to the Principal Secretary, Law and the Chief Secretary for approving the proposal and execution of sale deed, it said.
Meanwhile, IOCL had obtained environment clearance on November 5, 2018, and the project had also been cleared under the single window clearance of the State Government on December 6, 2017.
IOCL is now prepared to start the project execution work immediately after receipt of necessary permission for sale deed, Pradhan said. Pradhan said oil marketing companies have four LPG bottling plants in the State and they have already invested Rs 100 crore for augmenting the existing bottling capacity per annum from 1.5 crore cylinders in 2014 to three crore in 2018.
Three new LPG bottling plants are underway at Balangir, Rayagada and Khurda at a cost of Rs 403 crore and one LPG import terminal at Paradip at a cost of Rs 690 crore, he said. Besides, IOCL has already commissioned eastern India’s first LPG pipeline - Paradip-Balasore-Haldia at a cost of Rs 365 crore in Odisha to supply bulk LPG in a safe, cost-effective and hassle-free manner to its Balasore bottling plant, he added.