After waiting for five years and still not being able to see much progress on land acquisition at its Torpa-Kamdara project site in Jharkhand, ArcelorMittal, the world?s number one steel producer, is now looking for an alternative site to realise its 12-million tonne per annum (mtpa) greenfield project in the state.
Among the four to five alternative sites, the company is now concentrating on Petarwar in Bokaro district.
?We were not doing very well at our original site?although a majority of the people were in our favour, a group of people were opposing us and we were not able to make headway even though four to five years had passed while we waited,? said a company source.
ArcelorMittal had signed an MoU with the Jharkhand government in October 2005 for a 12-mtpa steel plant, entailing an investment of around Rs 40,000 crore and had chosen the Torpa-Kamdara site falling in both Khunti and Gumla districts of the state for its green-field project.
The steel major had been facing stiff resistance from a section of landowners who ,under the banner of Adivasi Moolvasi Astitva Raksha Manch (AMARM), have been opposing the project saying the state government?s move to sell tribal land in the area was a violation of the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act (CTA) which prohibits sale of tribal land to non-tribals.
Deliberations had been on in the company regarding the slow progress of the India project and that something should be done about it, the source said.
?We have started looking at four-five options,? he added. The official statement from the company, however, continues to say that it is not exiting Torpa-Kamdara.
A company spokesperson, in a written response to FE, denied exiting the Torpa-Kamdara site and added that as the company was keen to start operations in Jharkhand as soon as possible, it had ?identified Petarwar as a suitable site?.The company is now looking for 2,500 acre of land at Petarwar (in Bokaro district) and is currently talking to villagers for giving up their holdings in favour of the company.
?We have been allocated 32-35 million cubic meter (mcm) of water to be drawn from the Tenughat dam?we will soon be applying for the same?, the spokesperson said.
The company said it would comply with the existing resettlement & rehabilitation (R&R) policy of the Jharkhand government and in case there is a revision in it, as is being demanded by a section of the investors, it would discuss the same with the government and advise accordingly.
Asked about the status of its Orissa project, the official said, ?We are proceeding on all our projects with full speed?.
