A shot in arm for JSW: Kolmong villagers give nod to JSW Utkal slurry pipeline project
By Subrat Sarangi
New Delhi, June 22: It’s a shot in the arm for leading steelmaker JSW. The Sajjan Jindal-led company has got the crucial nod of villagers of Kolmong in Odisha’s Sundergarh district for its JSW Utkal Steel plant.
Public hearing for the plant was held on June 20.
The public hearing was conducted jointly by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Sundergarh district administration to receive environment clearance for iron ore beneficiation plant in Kolmong, Sundergarh district.
The company has proposed to establish 50 MTPA iron ore beneficiation/de-sliming plant, 30 MTPA grinding plant and 30 MTPA slurry transportation system.
About 2000 villagers from nearby villages were present during the public hearing. Close to 70 villagers expressed their opinion in the forum and supported the proposed project. The project is set to generate near about 300 employment opportunities in the locality.
“The local transporters would not be hit by the laying of slurry pipes as only lower grade iron ore fines will be transported through pipeline for maximizing resource utilization,” said Ashesh Kumar Padhy, Head, Projects (Odisha) JSW Steel Limited. The higher grade ore and iron lumps will be transported as usual via road so there is no need for panic, he stated.
Ex member Legislative Assembly, BhimsenChoudhary and community influencer AnandBarik said that the future of people in the region is set to change for good with mega players like JSW foraying into the locality.Environmentalist in the locality remarked that JSW is known for its people friendly and environment friendly approach and company is taking up many futuristic endeavours in the area.
Sundergarh ADM Shiv Shankar Toppo and Rourkela SPCB RO BB Dash were present to facilitate the public consultation
Meanwhile, the company’s officials assured the villagers for fulfillment of their demand in phased manner. “We will ensure local employment based on their eligibility for the project across various domains. There are 300 direct and outsourced employment opportunity in the project,” said BRK Padhi, Head, Mines to the media.
