Odisha losing industrial projects to other states: BJD

Bhubaneswar, Sep 7 (UNI) The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has accused the BJP government of failing to retain major industries in Odisha, alleging that several companies which had shown interest during the BJD regime are now shifting their projects to other states.

BJD leaders said while the BJP government claims that reputed industries are eager to invest in Odisha, the reality is that companies that had earlier signed agreements during the BJD’s tenure are pulling out one after another.

They cited the example of the UK-based Semiconductor Group SRAM & MRAM, which had signed an MoU with the BJD government in March 2023, proposing an investment of Rs 30,000 crore.
Around 700 acres of land in Chhatrapur (Ganjam district) had been identified for the project. However, the company has now signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government.

BJD General Secretary and MLA Tusharkanti Behera said the development exposes the hollowness of the BJP government’s tall claims. “Earlier too, companies like JSW EV and ArcelorMittal, which had signed agreements with the BJD government, shifted their projects to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Behera alleged that the BJP government’s promise of making Odisha an industrially prosperous state has turned out to be “mere rhetoric.”
Senior BJD leader and former minister Ashok Chandra Panda also accused the BJP of appropriating projects conceptualised under the BJD regime.

He said the proposed Science City, recently announced by the BJP government, was originally initiated by the BJD. “Fifty acres of land had already been allocated for the project at Barunei near Khordha,” Panda said.

He added that the BJD government had also decided to establish Science Parks-cum-Planetariums in all 30 districts, each on 5 acres of land at a cost of around Rs . 6.5 crore. Projects in Baripada, Ghatagaon (Keonjhar), and Rayagada have already been completed, he claimed.
Panda alleged that the BJP government is trying to take credit for initiatives that were actually launched during the BJD tenure.