Jajpur, June 18: Over 20,000 contractual workers and 5,000 regular employees who were earlier employed at Kalinganagar industrial complex in Jajpur have lost their jobs over last five years.
Employment opportunities have contracted in the district as several industries including Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited, Mesco Steels, Maithan Ispat, Rohit Ferro-Tech and Yazdani Steel and Power have shut shop.
Further, the COVID-19 outbreak in Jajpur district has added to the job seekers’ woes. Most of them strive hard to eke out their living under the gloomy economic scenario, lamented local residents.
Interestingly, the Kalinganagar industrial complex was established in 1990s. People in the district had wholeheartedly welcomed this step of the state government for industrialization as it had opened the gates for employment for local youths. Mesco was the first private industrial unit which had set up its plant in the district.
Later, the industrial house obtained two iron mines under Joda mining division. Following the hearing of a case on gross irregularities by Mesco, the Supreme Court ordered to collect a penalty of Rs 924.75 crore from the company.
The company had to shut down as it could not pay the penalty. Maithan Ispat, which belonged to the same group of industries, also shut down.
Likewise, Tata Steels had employed 36,108 contractual workers and 2,602 regular employees at its Kalinganagar unit by March 2015. By March 2016, only 17,699 contractual workers and 2,682 regular employees were working in the factory, Rehabilitation and Peripheral Development Advisory Committee (RPDAC) sources said. The contractual workers, it was learnt, had been deployed through private agencies.
Similarly, Nilachal Ispat Nigam Limited which was a joint venture between Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India Limited (MMTC) and the Odisha Mining Corporation Limited (OMC), Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Limited (IPICOL) was shut down in April this year.
As a result, about 4,000 contractual workers and regular employees have lost their jobs. Apart from the above, nearly 60 per cent of the regular employees and other contractual workers of Brahmani River Pellets Limited (BRPL), Jindal Steels Limited and Yazdani Steel and Power Limited have lost jobs during this period, RPDAC sources said.
PNN