The Supreme Court today cleared the decks for Tata Steel's Rs 15,400 crore project in Orissa as it rejected a plea filed by Kalinga Power Corporation (KPCL) against the state government's decision to allot land to the company.The apex court, in an interim order in October 2005, had allowed Tata Steel to begin its six million tonne steel project pending a final order on a petition filed by KPCL.A bench headed by Justice G P Mathur has given the green signal for the steel plant.The state government had, in 1994, alloted 1,000 acres of land to KPCL to set up a 500MW power project at the Kalinga Nagar Industrial complex at Dubri. The allotment, however, was cancelled in December 2004.The cancellation was challenged by KPCL in the Orissa High Court saying the state government's reason that it was unable to free the land from villagers was false.Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation had argued that Kalinga failed to pay the cost of land and Tata Steel was given the land after it paid the entire cost.The high court dismissed Kalinga's petition on the ground that land allotment was provisional, prompting the company to file a special leave petition in the Supreme Court.
