BERHAMPUR: At a time when the demand for returning the lands acquired for industries in Ganjam district is growing shriller, The Tata Steel Managing Director’s visit to Ganjam district seems to have settled things for now. Tata Steel MD HM Nerurkar along with vice-president for Orissa Projects of the Company Hrideyshwar Jha visited Ganjam district on Tuesday to take stock of the progress of the proposed projects. They had an informal meeting with Ganjam District Collector Kishen Kumar and Managing Director of Gopalpur Ports Limited (GPL) Mahimanandan Mishra. Gopalpur Industrial Park project is planned on 3,300 acres of land taken over by the company in 1995 for its now shelved mega steel plant project near Gopalpur port. Tata Steel, being the anchor investor, has announced a ferro chrome industry with a capacity of around 55,000 tonne a year besides four million tonne capacity rubber industry and a desalination plant. The three units are scheduled to go for production from 2013. However, as no progress was made even after seven months of the foundation, the displaced families whose lands were acquired started agitation demanding return of their lands. According to the discussion between Tata Steel, GPL and district administration, Tata Steel would have its own berth and a jetty at Gopalpur Port at Rs. 60 crore for transportation of its proposed production. However, till the construction of the berth, the port would provide a rebate of around 50 per cent to Tata Steel for transportation. Tata Steel would construct a hospital in the vacant land at the Tata rehabilitation colony at Sitalapalli for the convenience of port and Tata employees and the GPL authorities would establish a school in the port’s vicinity, in order to reduce dependence on Berhampur. Meanwhile, a team of officials of Jindal Company also visited the Gopalpur port to get a reserve berth.
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