By Our Correspondent in Bhubaneswar, February 1, 2015 :

Controversy is brewing over selection of a south India based company for the operational control of the Odisha Mining Corporation’s (OMC) Chrome Ore Beneficiation Plant (COBP) at South Kaliapani in Jajpur district, nearly 150 km from here.

The firm, which had participated in the tender among the few, is understood to have quoted higher prices to run the unit and has not budged for a lower price during negotiations with OMC officials, sources said.

The state government will lose revenue to the tune of several hundred crore rupees in the coming five years if the firm is given the contract to run the beneficiation plant, sources in the government said.

According to reports, after the five-year term of the incumbent agency running the plant came to an end on November 13, 2014, the OMC floated tender for running the unit for a fresh term.

“A negligible number of firms participated in the bidding in which a Bangalore based entity named KIOCL was adjudged as the successful bidder. However, the tender committee found that price quoted by the KIOCL was higher than the incumbent firm. The committee called the firm for price negotiation which failed due to the latter’s insistence not to compromise with the quoted rates,” sources said.

“After the negotiation talks failed, the tender committee recommended for fresh tender. However, the OMC management, instead of complying the tender committee’s recommendation, is trying to allow KIOCL to run the plant at the high quoted prices,” the sources added.

According to the existing law, the OMC should have gone for fresh tender as there were not much bidders in the earlier bidding process.

The local people, while alleging a “conspiracy theory” in whole bidding exercise, have urged the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to intervene and  save the state from what they said a “planned attempt” to “loot” chrome ore resource from Kaliapani area.

Despite repeated attempts, neither the OMC authorities nor the KIOC personnel could be reached for their comments.