Paradip: The establishment of Deepak Fertilisers plant here in Jagatsinghpur district has been pushed into uncertainty with its office lying closed for last two years and the company showing no sign of any headway in its project, a report said Wednesday.
Paradip is termed as the gateway of development for eastern India. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to this port town, February 7, 2016.
Meanwhile, both the state government and Centre have announced to spend Rs 1 lakh crore for the development of Paradip. This has come at a time when the state government is organising business conclaves to attract industrialists to invest in the state and establish their units.
Locals have demanded to find out as to why the firms that had expressed their interest for investment have gone back on their projects.
Reports said that five companies in Paradip have been sold off to other firms after becoming bankrupt during last five years. Among these announcements, a fertiliser plant by Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemical Corporation Ltd (DFPSL) was one of the major industries scheduled for establishment in the port town.
A decision had been taken to establish the plant on the fringes of Rangiagada, Chaukimatha and Bagadia in Paradip of Jagatsinghpur district.
Accordingly, the state government-owned IDCO had acquired 83.26 acre of land for establishment of the plant. The company had even erected a compound wall around its boundary and even imported construction materials from foreign countries. Furthermore, the district administration had conducted public hearing for the project and sought the opinions of affected villagers on its establishment, September 15, 2017.
The company had then said that its construction will be completed within 36 months and announced to produce nitric acid, ammonium nitrate solutions, technical prill, maleate and ammonia. The company had announced to annually produce 3,040 MT chemicals and give direct and indirect employment to over 1,900 youths.
Meanwhile, six years have passed after the public hearing but the site acquired by the company is lying abandoned and the company is yet to start work on its project.
When contacted, three senior officials who were then heading the company said that they have left the company two years back. Currently, the company has no employee in its Paradip office at Dochhaki here which is lying closed for last two years, said a former employee Ranjan Behera. After the company left Paradip, he has opened a betel shop at Nuagad Square on Cuttack-Paradip road and earning his livelihood.
The materials which were imported for construction are lying abandoned inside a shed and gathering dust. Meanwhile, the company has no presence in this port town while efforts to contact its headquarters in Mumbai failed to yield any results as the calls went unanswered.
Reliable sources said that the company is planning to establish a similar plant at Gopalpur which it had announced in 2021. When contacted, IDCO’s land acquisition officer KC Das said that they acquired land and provided it to the company for establishment of its plant but have no knowledge as to why the company did not commence work on the plant. He advised this correspondent to rather ask the company officials about the establishment of its plant.
PNN