BHUBANESWAR: Navratna CPSE Nalco’s move for brownfield expansion of the aluminium smelter at Angul has been hit, with land acquisition moving at a snail’s pace.
Nalco requires around 267.21 acre land for the proposed brownfield expansion of the Angul smelter. While 130 acre is already in the company’s possession, the remaining 137.21 acre is yet to be alienated or acquired. The required land includes 54.67 acre government and 82.54 acre private land.
“Of the 54.67 acre government land, the conveyance deed execution for 38.51 acre was pending due to delay in payment. The local administration and Nalco have to relocate the religious structures which exist on the remaining 16.16 acre. Acquisition of private land has also gone into rough weather as Nalco has already denied jobs for the land losers,” sources said.
Nalco has lined up a massive Rs 30,000 crore expansion plan, including a 0.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) smelter at its existing Angul complex, a 1,080 MW coal-based captive power plant (CPP) and bauxite and coal mine development. Of this, around Rs 18,000 crore will be invested in the smelter project and Rs 12,000 crore in the power plant, with commissioning of the additional smelter capacity targeted by 2030. It currently operates a 0.46 MTPA smelter with four potlines of 240 cells each at Angul.
The land identified for the CPP has not been acquired as it has many authorised occupants and another patch of land proposed by Angul district authorities was found unsuitable. Even as the rehabilitation and resettlement disbursement for the cashew plantation felled at Utkal D&E coal mines has been completed, the matter is pending before the National Green Tribunal, Kolkata, with the next hearing scheduled shortly.
Apart from the smelter, operationalisation of Pottangi bauxite mines has been delayed, as the SIA study for around 112.26 acre of private land has not been completed. Sources said Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Developmental Studies (NCDS), which has been entrusted with the assessment, faces a manpower shortage.
Nalco also requires 310 acre, including 79.92 acre government land for the ore loading and conveyor corridor. For land acquisition related to the water intake facility at Pottangi, it needs six acre, which includes 2.657 acre private land. Gram Sabha meetings have been postponed multiple times due to law and order issues.
Official sources said the issues related to land acquisition were discussed at a high-level meeting, jointly chaired by the state chief secretary and Union secretary of Mines. Idco has been asked to execute the conveyance deed of the government land for the smelter at the earliest. It has been decided that the land finalisation and R&R details will be completed in consultation with Nalco, sources added.
An official of Idco said Rs 12.91 crore has been paid towards premium, rent, cess and other charges for the government land and the divisional head of Angul has been authorised to execute the deed agreement. The land will be allotted in favour of Nalco by January 15, he said.
Idco chairman Sanjeeb Kumar Mishra did not respond to calls and messages from TNIE.