Tata Steel to get land in Bastar for greenfield unit soon

Chhattisgarh government has started the process to hand over the land to Tata Steel for setting up a greenfield integrated steel plant in Bastar region.

“The Bastar district administration has completed the land acquisition in the area barring a few villages and has handed it over to the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) for next action,” Managing Director of CSIDC Rajesh Goverdhan told Business Standard.

The Tata Steel is setting up 5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) greenfield integrated steel plant in Lohandiguda block of Bastar district. The project will come up in 2160.58 hectares of land covering ten villages. But the villagers protest in three villages continues that has stalled the complete acquisition of land.

“The CSIDC would soon start the demarcation process on the land handed over to it by the district administration so that the possession of land could be given to the Tata Steel,” Goverdhan said. The corporation is likely to complete the process in a month or two, he added.

The Tata Steel would now pay 10 per cent of the total land cost to the CSIDC as commission for the land before the latter start the demarcation process.

A senior official in the Bastar district administration said that the people in three villages were adamant not to give their land for the steel plant. “If the protest continues, the villages will be excluded and the possession of the remaining area will be given to the company,” the official added.

The Bastar district administration had acquired about 75 of the land selected for the Tata Steel Plant. In all, 1151 villagers have received the compensation of Rs 42 crore, the official said.