BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das on Saturday demanded a white paper from the BJP government on actual investments made and jobs created in the state since June 2024.
Questioning the credibility of the investment claims during the chief minister’s UAE visit, Das said the state government is projecting investment proposals worth around Rs 2.43 lakh crore and 6.18 lakh employment opportunities but there is no clarity on how much of the announced investment would actually materialise.
“Just signing MoUs during foreign visits is not enough. The government should place before the people the actual investment and employment generated,” Das said.
He cited the Utkarsh Odisha: Make-in-Odisha Conclave-2025, where investment proposals worth around Rs 16.73 lakh crore involving 593 projects and 12.90 lakh jobs were announced. However, in reality, only 261 projects had received approvals and 103 had reached the groundbreaking or foundation stone laying stage, he said.
Das said actual work has begun on only 30-50 projects involving investments of around Rs 2-Rs 3 lakh crore, while the employment generated so far was estimated at just 30,000-32,000.
The state Congress chief also alleged that several major investment proposals had either been withdrawn or shifted from Odisha. He cited JSW’s proposed Rs 40,000 crore electric vehicle project and the proposed Rs 1 lakh crore ArcelorMittal steel project in Kendrapara and alleged that the latter had been shifted to Visakhapatnam.
Das demanded that the government disclose projectwise investment and employment figures in the upcoming Assembly session, particularly for all MoUs signed since June 2024.