Koppal Steel Plant: Decision after studying DC's report, says CM Siddaramaiah
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The government would decide on the fate of a mega steel plant in Koppal in the backward Kalyana Karnataka region after going through the deputy commissioner's report, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Friday.Hospet-based Baldota group signed up with the government at the global investor summit in February proposing to invest Rs 54,000 crore on a greenfield steel mill with a production capacity of 10.50 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).The project would add about 15, 000 new direct and indirect jobs, the group had said. But it has ground to a halt following local resistance.'I have asked for a comprehensive report from the deputy commissioner,' Siddaramaiah said, responding to media queries at Hospet in Vijayanagar district.The CM had, in March first week, asked the Koppal district administration to direct the Baldota group to stop work on the steel mill.The CM's direction came after a delegation of MLAs and MLCs, led by the district in-charge minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, gave him a memorandum opposing the plant. A few local organisations and Gavisiddeshwara Swami, the head of the local Gavisiddeshwar mutt, led the campaign against the proposed factory on the grounds that it would cause pollution on commissioning.The Baldota group has been a legacy player in the mining of iron ore in Ballari district and decided to set up its own steel mill as it has adequate iron ore mining leases acquired through e-auctions to meet the demand arising from its proposed steel project.The company has acquired 1,000 acres of land and is planning to acquire another 2,400 acres for the steel mill, Rahul N Baldota, joint managing director of Baldota Steel & Power, had said, adding that the company had already received statutory approvals.
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