Orissa government is not going to pursue ArcelorMittal to reconsider its decision on scraping the proposed steel project in the state. We are not going to request ArcelorMittal to renew its MoU, Orissa chief secretary JK Mohapatra said,adding,If they come on their own with a proposal to revive the project,we would certainly consider. He said that the company officials requested him on Wednesday not to renew the MoU. Reacting to ArcelorMittals allegation that the company withdrew from the 12 million tonne steel project due to delay in land acquisitions and grant of iron ore mining lease ,the chief secretary said that there were some problem in the land acquisition. He,however,clarified the grant of mining lease could not be possible as the project did not progress as per the milestones laid down in the MoU. Sources in the state steel and mines department said that ArcelorMittal did not take interest in going ahead with the project. It did not deposit the required amount for land acquisition even though the state government issued 7(1) notification for acquiring 7,000 acres of land for the project in Patna tehsil of Keonjhar district. The company even did not submit the detailed project report (DPR) despite repeated reminders by the state government,the sources pointed out. The MoU signed for the R40,000-crore mega steel project on December 21,2006,had expired in 2011. Though the company filed a request letter for renewal of the MoU,it did not respond to the state governments reminders for furnishing project status report to take a decision on the renewal of the MoU.
