By IANS,
Raipur: Tata Steel made a big headway Monday in its efforts to set up a mega steel project in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district, with most of the local residents supporting the proposed project in a public hearing organised by the state government.
“Most of the villagers attending the hearing gave their consent for the steel plant,” Bastar District Collector M.S. Paraste said.
The hearing was organised by the Chhattisgarh Environment Conservation Board (CECB) at Lohandiguda in Bastar, some 340 km south of Raipur.
The global steel giant has proposed to invest Rs.19,500 crore in the Maoist-insurgency hit Bastar district to set up the the 5.5-million-tonne per annum plant.
“The public hearing for environment clearances was successful. The people of Bastar should be congratulated as the proposed steel plant would change the life of tribal-predominated region,” Paraste told IANS.
According to officials, the state government has so far acquired nearly 80 percent of the total 2,044 hectares needed for the project across 10 villages in the Lohandiguda block from 1,707 account holders.
Varun Jha, vice-president of Tata Steel’s Chhattisgarh project along with other senior officials was present at the hearing, which was presided over by Paraste and S.K. Dewan, CECB’s Bastar regional officer.
Tata Steel officials said the company would put its best resources in place to control pollution in the area.