Bhubaneswar: During the establishment of the alumina refinery in Kalahandi, protests were made by NGO groups and political parties with the help of ‘Church of England to disrupt the project,” Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal wrote on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter).
Without naming any political party or NGO, Agarwal said not everyone wanted the project to succeed, and even though they followed every regulation and every norm, a group of NGOs supported by the Church of England was determined to disrupt the project. The group went ahead and even influenced political parties to join them, he said.
Ek samay tha jab Odisha rajya ke Kalahandi zile ko shayad hi koi janta tha. Mujhe yaad hai, in 1985, when the then Prime Minister visited Kalahandi, he was very distressed at seeing the situation on ground and made his famous remark that out of every rupee that leaves Delhi, only… pic.twitter.com/EU5MQBR2tH
— Anil Agarwal (@AnilAgarwal_Ved) October 30, 2023
Posting a photograph of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Lanjigarh Alumina Project by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Mr Agarwal said that not only factory, they had to build everything from scratch, rail, roads and airport as CM Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for the world’s largest alumina refinery.
Mr Agarwal said that when Biju Patnaik was the Chief Minister of Odisha, he was determined to change the face of Kalahandi and shared his vision of setting up an aluminium industry in the district rich in resources, particularly bauxite.
Recalling the grim situation of Kalahandi he noticed during his first visit, Mr Agarwal said that Indian investors pulled out of the project citing remoteness and Naxal menace in the area. But, without losing hope, he met investors outside India and succeeded in raising Rs 100 crore.
Mr. Agarwal further said that the world does not want India to become a producer and time was spent on battling vested interests instead of expanding the refinery. Even then, the efforts yielded results as the data for Kalahandi shows salaries paid to workers increased by 500%, industrial production increased by 400% and over 100 factories were set up.
In the end, the businessman shared that he is determined to complete what they started in Kalahandi, and he believes in inclusive growth and its power to transform a place in one generation. He also invited investors to join the group in this journey.
Comments are closed.