BHAWANIPATNA: One and a half years have passed since Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone of an integrated Agro-based industry at Mathura village near Sargiguda in Junagarh block of Kalahandi district. But nothing has moved ever since and the stone has gathered moss.
As per reports, the State Government had cleared the proposals of Rourkela-based Starlight Energy Limited to set up an integrated grain-based distillery unit along with a parboiled rice mill and a power plant at Sargiguda in the district. Later, on November 16, 2016, the Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone for the industry.
Subsequently, the company purchased 91.4 acres of land and building of a defunct Sugar Mill for the purpose. The Western Odisha Sugar and Chemical Ltd, owned by a Maharashtra-based company, was established in 1997. But after five years of its production, the mill was closed due to loan burden and liquidation. The Starlight had proposed to set up an automatic parboiled rice mill having 48 MT per hour capacity, a biomass power plant with two turbines having 3 MW power generation each and an integrated grain-based distillery unit for preparation of ethanol from broken rice and maize on the premises of the defunct sugar mill.
Though one and a half years have passed since the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone, the company is yet to start construction work for the proposed industry. Locals of adjacent Goud Sargiguda, Mathura and Palas villages have been waiting expectantly to get job in the proposed plants, said Biranchi Panda, a resident of Mathura village.
Assistant Manger of District Industries Centre Debadutta Dash said the department has asked the company to expedite construction work and set up the proposed plants immediately.
Contacted, Managing Director of the company Sunil Choudhury said the company has expedited the work after it got permission from the Petroleum Ministry in May, 2018 for preparation of ethanol. The company is going to invest `40 crore in the first phase. However, there is no plan to set up the proposed automatic parboiled rice mill now as it requires huge quantity of paddy, he added.
He said the district produces about 10 lakh tonnes of paddy per annum. The parboiled rice mill can only be possible if the district produces at least 50 lakh tonnes of paddy per annum, he added.