10% land utilised after 25 years of acquisition in Odisha 

Activists demand return of unused land to original owners in Gopalpur where Tata Steel had proposed to set up a shore-based steel plant in 1996-97

Two and half decades after the acquisition of 3,000 acres of land for a steel plant proposed by Tata Steel at Gopalpur of Odisha’s Ganjam district, less than 10% of the land parcel has been put to use for industrial and other purposes, Odisha Government informed the State Assembly.

Land rights activists and environmentalists demanded that the unused land be immediately returned to its original owners as the company had failed to utilise it.

As many as seven industrial projects have been allotted to 214.13 acres of land which is less than 10% of the land acquired during the late 1990s.

In response to a query, Pratap Keshari Deb, State Industries Minister, said Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited had been allotted 1,235.385 acres of land while 206.685 acres had been returned to Kalipalli villagers only on October 31, 2022 by a Cabinet decision.

About 3,000 acres was originally acquired for a shore-based steel plant proposed by Tata Steel in 1996-97. However, the plan was dropped due to some logistic reasons. The land parcel lay unutilised for more than 15 years before a Special Economic Zone was set up with Tata Steel acting as anchor investor.

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Smartchem Technologies Limited (STL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Deepak Fertilisers And Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (DFPCL), which has been allotted 40.24 acres of land in the SEZ area, has proposed to produce 377 kilo-tonnes per annum (KTPA) of technical ammonium nitrate, a vital component for mining of coal, limestone, steel and in the pharmaceutical industry. The company has proposed to invest ₹2,300 crore.