By Bizodisha Bureau, June 21, 2018: The Cabinet chaired by
chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday endorsed a proposal by Tata Steel for utilization of 1,735 acres of land to develop a private industrial park at Gopalpur in Ganjam district in Odisha.

Of the 2,970 acres of land handed over to Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) for setting up a steel plant at Gopalpur by Tata Steel, 1,235 acres notified by the Central government as SEZ may be utilized by the Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Ltd (TSSEZL), said a Cabinet note.

“The balance 1,735 acre may be utilized by the said company for setting up a private industrial park as domestic tariff area.”

The Cabinet also approved the lease of government land measuring 181.77 acres near Sambalpur in favour of IIM-Sambalpur for construction of a permanent campus and decided to withdraw provision regarding the appointment of pro-chancellor of the Biju Patnaik University of Technology.

It also cleared alienation of government land of 881 acres in four districts free of cost in favour of Union Ministry of Railways for construction of Daspalla-Balangir segment of the crucial Khurda-Balangir new broad gauge railway line.

The cabinet also approved drinking water projects worth Rs 316 crore under its BASUDHA scheme that would benefit 2.79 lakh people under three blocks – Jeypore, Boriguma and Kotpad – in Koraput district. The projects would be completed in two years.