BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to expedite the pending proposal of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) for capacity enhancement, two Union ministers from the state held discussions with their counterpart in Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Union minister of Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram and Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Kumaraswamy and suggested to form a high-powered committee to remove the obstacles in the plant’s expansion.
Pradhan said the proposed expansion will boost steel production capacity, reduce imports and generate employment, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Purvodaya’ vision for eastern India’s development. Pradhan and Oram praised the Union Steel minister’s commitment to the steel sector in Odisha, and thanked him for his support in resolving the issues hindering the plant’s expansion.
With an existing hot metal production capacity of 4.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA), RSP, an unit of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) had submitted a proposal to the Steel ministry for capacity expansion to 9.3 MTPA in 2021.
However, the expansion plan is hanging fire due to land-related issues. A portion of the land of RSP is now under unauthorised occupation of people who have developed slums in the area.
In August last year, the issue of capacity expansion of RSP was discussed when Union Steel secretary Sandeep Pondrik met Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Lok Seva Bhawan. Though Pondrik said SAIL is fully committed for the expansion plan, there has been no progress so far.