BHUBANESWAR: A day after Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan sought the assistance of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for setting up an ethanol plant in Bargarh district, the State BJP on Sunday targeted Labour Minister Sushant Singh for the delay in land acquisition for the project.
Accusing Singh of hatching a conspiracy with the office of the Chief Minister to delay the project, BJP MLA Pradip Purohit said the Labour Minister is creating obstacles in allotment of land for the project. “The Labour Minister is creating hurdles for the project. He is putting pressure on the State Government to delay the process of land transfer to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) at Baulsingha in Bhatli tehsil of Bargarh district. The Chief Minister is keeping mum on the issue as Singh is one of his trusted men in the party,” Purohit said at a news conference here.
The Central oil PSU had requested the State Government through Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL) in November 2016 for allocation of land.
Though a year has passed, the Government is yet to provide the required land to BPCL for political reasons, Purohit said.
Since the project will bring economic development of the region, the BJP urged the State Government to transfer the required land to BPCL without further delay.
Writing to the Chief Minister on Friday, the Union Petroleum Minister had requested his assistance for establishment of the ethanol plant which will generate employment for the local people and farmers of the district will immensely benefit.
The project will create tremendous demand for the farm waste. All the paddy straw generated from paddy growing district, considered to be the rice bowl of the State, will be used in making ethanol, said Purohit who also belongs to the district.