ITC's Jabalpur project going nowhere

The Jabalpur region is still awaiting response from tobacco major ITC Bhadrachalam's specialty paper division on its proposed Rs 2,500-crore greenfield paper plant in Madhya Pradesh. The company got sops from the MP government in 2005.

"We have communicated to the company that plenty of land is available in the Dindori and Mandla regions, where they can cultivate virgin paper through cloning. But they have yet to identify the location for their plant," KP Rahi, collector, Dindori district, told Business Standard.

Senior officials of the state government and the company were in talks for several months and in October 2005, the company had asked for land in Kareli near Jabalpur while the state government had identified a plot in Maneri (Mandla district) for the project.

"They had said the water source at the Maneri site was too far away, while the Kareli site is near the Narmada river. They wanted to lay a pipeline to carry water for the Maneri site at their own expense but the plan did not materialise," Rahi added.

The company had also written a letter to the state government in this regard.

Dindori also has huge untapped land but the company and the government both will have to see the pros and cons since the area is tribal dominated and may pose threat to primitive tribes like Baiga.

"Kareli is known as the most fertile land in Asia, I don't think anyone will surrender his land to an industrial project," said another senior official in the rural development department.

During its meeting in May and July 2005, and after visiting various sites, the company had said it required 1,000 hectares to set up the plant and a staff colony for staffers and 5,000 hectares for irrigation purposes.

The company also had plans to set up of 50-MW power plant. ITC's consultant, SPB Projects and Consultancy Ltd, had surveyed 12 sites in Madhya Pradesh.

The company officials could not be contacted.