The inter-ministerial committee of the Odisha government constituted to formulate a policy for offering raw materials to state based industries will seek more time for submission of its report.
Though the panel was mandated to submit its report by January 30, exactly three months after the notification dated October 30 last year, it was yet to finalize the report.
“We will request the authorities to extend the deadline for submission of the report. The panel has already held six meetings but we need further consultations with the stakeholders. We have talked to associations of sponge iron makers and mine lessees. We are going to hold talks with the stakeholders of the aluminium industry. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for February 2,” said Prasanna Acharya, finance minister and chairman of the inter-ministerial panel. The minister said the panel will study the ore supply policy of National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and mineral rich states like Karnataka to frame a policy that suits Odisha’s interests.
The committee’s mandate is to suggest measures for making iron ore, manganese, bauxite and chrome ore available to the mineral-based industries located in the state. The mineral ores will be made available in a fair and equitable manner through the state PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) and other lessees.
Besides, the committee will suggest modalities for making the ore available on a sustained basis to such industries through appropriate long-term linkage arrangements.
It will also suggest a framework for making the ore available to local industries through a transparent process.
It may be noted that the state government had inked 95 MoUs (memorandum of understanding) with private players across sectors like steel, aluminium and power. Of the 50 MoUs in the steel sector, 30 have gone into either partial or fullscale production.
The steel & mines department had received a number of representations from mineral based industries that they are facing shortage of ore required for running their industries.
Scarcity of raw materials had impaired production of some of these industries. The department feared that non-availability of ore for running industries may lead to a situation with adverse socio-economic consequences like unemployment and loss of wages. It is also likely to have an adverse impact on the state's investment climate and industrialisation process, thereby hampering the economic growth of the state.
