Govt Begins Land Acquisition For POSCO's Return To Odisha Via JSW Route With Steel Plant

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has begun land acquisition process for the proposed 6 MTPA greenfield steel plant of JSW-POSCO joint venture (JV) in Chief Minister Mohan Majhi’s home district of Keonjhar.

The advance move, though the JV is yet to officially announce the location for the Rs 40,000 crore project, draws from past challenges when POSCO abandoned a $12 billion steel project in Jagatsinghpur due to land acquisition hurdles two decades ago.

Land acquisition

A total of 2,466 acres, including 976 acres of government land and 1,490 acres of private land, with 794 acres of forest land (60 acres privately held), across eight villages in Patna tehsil have been identified. A deadline of two months has been set for securing government land, while notifications for acquisition of private land is likely to be issued by November. “The environment clearance for the project will be applied by December this year,” The New Indian Express reported, quoting sources.

The Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) has submitted the private land acquisition proposal. A taskforce, addressing industrial issues in Keonjhar, decided to resolve discrepancies in land schedules, involving Idco, district administration, railway authorities, and JSW, particularly concerning a proposed railway line from Keonjhar to Badampahad, it further stated.

“The JSW has already deposited Rs 11.5 crore for the pre-land acquisition activities, including DGPS survey, topological and logistic survey, engagement of consultants for forest and environment clearances. As per the JSW and POSCO agreement, the former will carry out all pre-project activities and the latter will step in during the construction phase. This is why POSCO has been kept out of the official announcement in the Keonjhar project so far,” the sources added.

Following a JSW-POSCO MoU in October last year for an integrated steel plant, JSW signed an agreement with Odisha in January at the Utkarsh Odisha conclave for the 5 MTPA Keonjhar project. In August, both companies signed a non-binding agreement to explore the steel plant, battery materials, and renewable energy, with Odisha as a key location