Odisha wants PM-level meeting to resolve Posco issue

Odisha has decided to hold a meeting at the prime ministerial level to facilitate the setting up of the $12 billion Posco steel project after a tripartite meeting to resolve the issue remained inconclusive.

"The tripartite meeting on Posco issue that was held at New Delhi on Tuesday remained inconclusive. Another high-level meeting to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be held soon to resolve the bottlenecks of the project," Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick said on Wednesday.

Mallick said Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik may attend the meeting on behalf of the state government.

Sources said the Odisha government has offered Posco to either enter a joint venture with Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) or a long-term supply agreement to set up the plant in the state's Jagatsinghpur district.

In the tripartite meeting, the Centre pointed out that no mines can be given to Posco without following the mandatory auction route, prescribed in the amended Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation, 2015.

The meeting was attended by principal secretary to the prime minister Nipendra Mishra, steel secretary Rakesh Singh, mines secretary Balvinder Kumar, Odisha chief secretary G C Pati and Posco India CMD Gee Woong Sung.

The proposed project has been stalled for about a decade due to various regulatory hurdles, including delay in land acquisition and mining leases.

Speaking on Vedanta's Lanjigarh project issue, Mallick said the state government proposed to provide raw material linkage through OMC.

But no decision has been taken in this regard as the bauxite mines of OMC are yet to be made operational, he added.

Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Resources, battling a fall in global aluminium prices, has asked its employees at its alumina refinery in Odisha to brace up for an imminent shutdown in the absence of raw material to feed the plant.

"We ran this unit with all commitment for nearly a decade despite heavy odds. But with the current market turmoil, which is not likely to improve soon and in absence of access to bauxite from within the state, the plant is operating with a daily loss of Rs.3 crore," K.K. Dave, chief operating officer of Vedanta's Lanjigarh refinery, said in a statement.

"Hence, we are forced to initiate the process of gradual closure."

The company is taking steps to formally communicate to the state government about this development.