Odisha to file amended forest diversion plan covering 1,253 ha for JSW site

Environment ministry had cleared diversion of forest land for Posco plant, which JSW wanted to take up after the South Korean firm opted out

The Odisha government is likely to file an amended forest diversion proposal shortly for 1,253 hectares (around 3,000 acres) of forest land near Paradip with the Ministry of environment, forest & climate change (MoEFCC). The ministry had accorded approval to divert forest land for a mega steel project proposed by South Korean multinational Posco.

However, after Posco offered to cede the land, JSW Steel has proposed to install its 12 million tonne steel plant at the same location. Since the Stage-II forest clearance granted to Posco was project specific, the state government needed to file the proposal again for the Sajjan Jindal-led firm.

Also, there was unrest at the proposed site with locals clamouring for forest rights and activists terming ‘illegal’ the district administration’s move to erect a boundary wall encircling land initially acquired for the Posco project. They contended that the district authorities could not go ahead with the boundary wall construction without a fresh forest diversion plan. A  case is pending with the Kolkata bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), opposing the boundary wall construction and settlement of forest rights.

“There are some figures where we are facing discrepancies and after reconciling them, we are going to file the amended forest diversion plan for the site. For JSW Steel, the land has already been approved and it can be transferred after some procedural formalities are done with”, said an official source.

The state government has approved 2,900 acres of land to be allotted to JSW Steel for its 12 million tonne project. The land requirement was appraised by Mecon Ltd. Officials at the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) are hopeful of land transfer to JSW Steel within two to three months. Idco had previously acquired 2,700 acres for the Posco project.

JSW Steel's investment package in Odisha is valued at Rs 550 billion. Alongside the steel plant, the steel maker has sought to set up 900 Mw captive power plant, 32 million tonne pellet unit and a slurry pipeline to transport iron ore concentrates from Joda to the project site proposed near Paradip.

The steel maker has formed a wholly-owned subsidiary -- JSW Utkal Steel Ltd -- to fast-track the implementation of its 12 million tonne crude steel plant and other inter-linked projects in Odisha. While the steel plant was initially proposed to be developed by JSW Steel, another group company JSW Infrastructure got the clearance to build the slurry pipeline. The company has requested the state government to transfer all clearances and approvals to JSW Utkal Steel Ltd.

Moreover, to secure iron ore supplies for its integrated steel project, the company has pitched for a long-term agreement for 50 years with state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) to supply 30 million tonnes per annum of iron ore fines at IBM (Indian Bureau of Mines) declared price.