ANGUL: Angul holds a central place in Odisha and it needs no emphasis. This central district is responsible for illuminating half the country and meets the dry fuel requirements of several states.
The rich coal belt is home to a super thermal power plant, a mega aluminum facility and a steel giant which are among the jewels in its crown. Needless to say, if Angul feels any law and order jolt, its ripples can be felt in farthest parts of the country as has been evident in the past.
Talcher coalfield is one of the four richest in the country producing more than 80 million tonne coal annually. It now targets to reach 100 million tonne mark this year. It feeds coal to power plants located in states like West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat and Haryana besides Odisha. Every day, around 40 rakes are transported by rail routes to power plants in these states from Talcher to run their power plants.
This is besides the road transport of coal which meets demands of the domestic industries of Odisha.
The State receives about Rs 1000 crore as royalty from coal every year, according to a report. The Indian Railways also generates an income of over Rs 5000 crore per annum by coal transportation. That’s how Angul’s coal contributes to the exchequer.
Then comes real ‘power.’ The 3000 mega watt coal-fired Talcher Super thermal power plant, owned by NTPC at Kaniha, does not just provide power to Odisha but also illuminates 17 Indian states. Any problem in the plant has its impact on the consuming states including four southern states like Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pudducherry. Similarly, the 460 MW Talcher Thermal power station of NTPC supplies all its power to Odisha. It provides the cheapest power to the State.
Angul also is home to the National Aluminum Company (NALCO), the Navratna PSU, which operates here with its smelter and power plants. The smelter’s annual capacity is 4.6 million tonne where as the total installed capacity of the power plant stands at 1200 MW. Nalco also now has rolled out ambitious expansion plan entailing a cost of about Rs 30,000 crore in the coming years. Jindal Steel & Power Ltd, one of the leading steelmakers in India, has set up Odisha’s largest steel plant at Angul.
The 6 MTPA mega steel complex not only occupies a pride of place in Angul district, it also is a milestone in India’s steel sector. The Naveen Jindal-led company has pioneered production of DRI/steel via coal gasification process, first time in the World. It uses indigenous coal and is indeed a showcase of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Built with an investment of about Rs 45,000 crore, the mega steel plant has created more than 50,000 direct and indirect employment in the district. JSPL, as a responsible corporate organisation, also actively contributes towards social and economic development of the district through its innovative social interventions under corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
The Kishori Express programme, which helped significantly reduce anaemia among adolescent girls in Angul, is now being implemented in Haryana under Transformation of Aspirational Districts programme by Government of India. As per the recent presentation on JSPL’s roadmap for 2030 by its Chairman Naveen JIndal before Union Steel and PNG Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the company plans to increase capacity of Angul Steel Plant to 25.2 MTPA which will make it the biggest single location steel plant in the world. With this, Angul will have a key role in achieving India’s envisioned capacity of 300 MTPA by 2030. This will also contribute large-scale direct and indirect employment opportunities in Angul as well as in Odisha.