BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Steel’s purported decision to shift the Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute (BPNSI) from Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur district to Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) campus has triggered widespread resentment among locals and political representatives.
If shifted, this would mark the second relocation of the institute in five years and will be a setback to the region’s aspirations of becoming a hub of steel, technology and skill development.
Initially established by the ministry in 2001 at Puri, BPNSI was shifted to Kalinga Nagar in 2021 following the decision of the then Union Steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Mission Purvodaya. Since then, the institute has been operating out of a temporary facility within the JCDL building at Kalinga Nagar.
Sources said the central idea behind the shifting was to develop BPNSI into an institute of international standards, so that it can serve as a hub for training, skilling and research in the steel sector. Accordingly, 25 acre of land was earmarked by the state government through IDCO for the institute’s permanent campus at Kalinga Nagar and five acre of land at Balianta on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar for a city campus.
The proposed shift to a relatively small building on RSP premises has sparked sharp criticism when the final stages of land allotment were underway. Locals see this as a move to gradually dismantle the institute rather than strengthen it.
A group of locals led by Pankapal sarpanch Smruti Ranjan Jena staged a demonstration in front of the institute on Saturday, demanding immediate rollback of the decision. They have threatened to intensify the agitation if the ministry proceeds with the relocation plan.
“The state government has already expedited land allotment. Why the sudden decision to move to Rourkela? This appears to be a deliberate attempt to weaken and eventually shut down the institute,” Jena alleged.
Despite operating from a transit campus with limited infrastructure, BPNSI has trained over 4,000 students and working professionals through its short-term and long-term courses tailored for the steel sector.
Meanwhile, Jajpur MP RN Behera has written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union minister for Steel HD Kumaraswamy to reconsider the decision.
He has requested them to prioritise the establishment of this institute as a world-class institute in Kalinga Nagar at the earliest.