Odisha to create land banks to attract investment

In a bid to attract investment and ensure hassle-free land acquisition for major projects, the Odisha government today decided to create land banks in ten districts for industrial development.

The state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (IDCO), assigned to work for infrastructure development for different industrial projects, would create the land banks.

"IDCO has so far identified more than two lakh acres of compact land patches suitable for industrial use," said state Industries minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

The minister said the state wanted to keep land ready for setting up industries and investors would not have to wait for land acquisition, they would be offered land as soon as they come forward for investment.

Mishra was speaking on the sidelines of a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

The ten districts to have land banks are — Jagatsinghpur (Paradip), Bhadrak (Dhamra), Cuttack, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Angul, Sundergarh (Rourkela), Jharsuguda, Jajpur (Kalinga Nagar) and Balasore.

Patnaik has directed the agency to split target dates for completion of sector specific industrial parks into monitorable milestones, he said adding, the Chief Secretary would review the progress of land banks every month and report to the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also asked IDCO to take CSR activities more seriously and expedite projects like Craft Museum, Mission Shakti Building and Krishi Bhawans.