Hemant Sharma, additional chief secretary, Odisha tells Pushpita Dey over phone on how the state is balancing growth and environment, attracting industries among other things. Edited excerpts
Following Utkarsh Odisha 2025, how will Odisha fast-track investment clearances and ensure timely project groundings?
Post-Utkarsh Odisha we have adopted a three-point strategy. First, we ensure that those industries which are partially in possession of land, or which are expansion projects, can be grounded early. So, starting from April, we have started grounding the projects—laying foundation stones and commencing work. In April itself, we started work on 14 projects.
For instance, we have given Nestle 80 acres of land. Similarly, Nestle vendors, who provide packaging material or raw material to Nestle, have been accommodated in about 20 acres close by. We have scheduled the groundbreaking for 17 units, including one very large investment by NINL [Neelachal Ispat Nigam].
The second point of our strategy is that there were a large number of new investors who attended [Utkarsh Odisha] for the first time. Now for these people, we are trying to re-establish contact with them. Just because they came to Utkarsh Odisha and expressed interest does not mean that they will start operations immediately.
So we are trying to bring them back to Odisha, show them land, set up meetings with our skills-development institutions to give them that confidence that they will be able to have skilled workers, show them existing industrial estates and enable meetings with our departments in let's say pollution control board, building plan approval, factories and boilers...
And finally, it might happen that some of the people who have signed MoUs or who attended might not actually turn up. So, we need to keep substituting these people with a new set of investors.
How is Odisha balancing industrial growth with environmental concerns?
We are really at the receiving end when it comes to emissions and sustainability-related issues, simply because of the nature of our industries. Odisha is a mineral-rich state, and naturally, mining does have some impact on the environment. Similarly, the metallurgical industry has a very large carbon footprint.
Our approach has been to encourage industries to adopt better technology and adhere to stringent environmental control standards and norms.
If any industry in Odisha wants to adopt more environmentally sustainable technology, we treat that investment as a new investment under our Industrial Policy Resolution. This makes it eligible for financial subsidies. Our second strategy focuses on increasing the share of renewable energy. We are encouraging cement plants to install solar systems.
We are also supportive of industries sourcing renewable energy from outside the state. If they generate it in Odisha, that’s ideal. But even if they bring it from states like Rajasthan, we provide incentives and waive charges such as cross-subsidy surcharges and state transmission fees.
Our approach has been to encourage industries to adopt better technology and adhere to stringent norms
How are you planning for broader economic and sectoral development?
The first strategy is to increase value addition within the state boundaries by providing land close to mines, improving logistics, enhancing rail and road connectivity and enabling efficient ore transportation.
The second principle is balanced regional growth. Central Odisha comprises about 10 of our 30 districts but accounts for nearly 80% of the state's manufacturing activity.
We are now working to attract more industries to the remaining districts—even if they are not home to large, mineral-bearing areas or established industrial infrastructure. While we may not see mega plants in these regions, we aim to promote the growth of MSMEs.
The government has mandated that each of Odisha’s 30 districts will have at least one new MSME park, spread over 100–200 acres, with plug-and-play infrastructure.
The government is encouraging value addition and manufacturing in mineral-bearing areas. For instance, Keonjhar accounts for nearly half of the state’s iron ore production but contributes less than 5% of its steel output. We aim to reverse this trend.
Our goal is to encourage industries to set up their plants within resource-rich districts. A recent example is Vedanta, which was allocated two high-potential mines, including the Sijimali mine. We have supported and incentivised them to establish the processing plant in the same location.
In 2013, the Supreme Court banned mining in Niyamgiri on the grounds of health and environmental hazards. Can job creation compensate for the environmental damage?
We ensure that the best environmental standards are met. So that there will be no pollution, no leaching and pollution of groundwater. The latest standards ensure that hardly any pollution takes place.
As the District Mineral Fund (DMF) came in, the entire royalty and a major part of the revenue is actually utilised for the people who are impacted. So, in Keonjhar, for instance, we have set up a medical college, the best medical services are available...the best of roads, the best of schools and the best of hostels for the school children there. Because now, this revenue, which the state government gets out of mining, is mandatorily to be invested only in those areas.
Also, economic activities are being introduced in order to provide a long-term economic future for the impacted people. Environmental concerns and what is called livelihood concerns are taken care of under the new regime. It's not that the companies will come and just take away the minerals and not do anything.