Ranchi: The Jharkhand government passed the buck on the slow progress of Lakshmi Mittal's 12 million tonne steel plant back to Mittal Steel, saying the company was yet to apply for iron ore mine lease, power and land.
A day after Mittal served a virtual ultimatum to Jharkhand that he would take the project to a state where things moved faster, Jharkhand Mines Minister Madhu Kora said government had not received any application from the Mittal group for iron ore mine lease, power and land acquisition.
"The pace of work could be judged only after the applications were given," he said.
Asked whether Mittal's announcement of setting up a steel plant in neighbouring Orissa was a pressure tactic to expedite things in Jharkhand, Kora said: "If anyone comes with such intentions, then I can only tell that the outcome of the understanding between the two parties would not be good."
The Jharkhand government has neither any problem nor any reservation on Mittal's announcement to set up a steel plant in Orissa - Mittal Steel's second announcement in nine months.
"The Jharkhand government is moving in the right direction and will go to the maximum extent to help Mittal Steel set up the greenfield project in the state. We are serious about helping them," Kora said.
"Greenfield projects, however, have their own bottlenecks. The problem of displacement appears. The government is in the process of firming up a rehabilitation and resettlement policy," he said, echoing the views of Chief Minister Arjun Munda.
Munda has said on Friday that once the policy was in place, the project would gather momentum. He also noted that Mittal would have to invest some money in the state as part of the MoU signed last October.
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