BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has offered full cooperation in facilitating the expansion of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and the broader development of the steel sector.
“The Chief Minister assured full support of the state government to help us achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of reaching 300 million tonne of steel capacity by 2030,” he said after calling on Majhi at the Lokseva Bhawan here.
Majhi and Kumaraswamy held a detailed review of steel-related developments in the state, particularly the expansion of RSP in presence of Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram.
Terming the interaction ‘fruitful’, Kumaraswamy said the discussions centred around strengthening Odisha’s position as a leading steel and mining hub.
The union minister said that the talks covered three key areas. “We discussed the functioning of the RSP, the planned expansion of the facility, and issues related to increasing steel and mining production in Odisha,” he said. He highlighted that Odisha, with its rich mineral resources and robust industrial base, remains an essential pillar for India’s steel growth strategy.
The meeting focused on modernisation and expansion of RSP which has been hanging fire due to lack of support from the state government in evicting encroachers from RSP land.
According to the meeting, while the modernisation of the existing plant is underway smoothly, the expansion is held up due to land acquisition and removal of unauthorised occupants from the RSP land.
The chief minister emphasied the importance of the expansion project saying it would boost the state’s economic growth and job creation as well. He said that land acquisition will proceed only after addressing local concerns through consensus.
It was decided that a committee headed by a senior officer in the rank of additional chief secretary will be formed to address all issues through discussions with locals.
The meeting also discussed land allocation for establishing an airport in Rourkela.
Though SAIL approved the modernisation and expansion of RSP in 2021 with a goal to more than double its capacity to around 9.3 MTPA by 2030 at an investment of approximately Rs 30,000 crore, it is yet to proceed due to land related issues.