Bhubaneswar:- In a significant move to address longstanding hurdles and accelerate industrial development in Odisha, the Union Government has decided to form a high-level committee to look into and resolve the challenges delaying the expansion of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP).
This decision came following a meeting in New Delhi attended by Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Union Tribal Affairs Minister and Sundargarh MP Jual Oram. During the discussions, Dharmendra Pradhan proposed the formation of a high-powered committee to streamline the process, clear bottlenecks, and address unresolved matters related to the plant’s expansion.
The Union Steel Minister welcomed the proposal and assured the formation of the committee to ensure that the project moves forward without further delays.
Highlighting the strategic importance of RSP’s expansion, Pradhan emphasized that enhancing the plant’s capacity is not just vital for Odisha but also a crucial step for India’s steel sector. He noted that the upgrade would significantly contribute to increasing domestic steel production, reducing dependency on imports, and fueling industrial growth in the eastern region.
The Rourkela Steel Plant, under the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), is set to double its capacity—from 4.5 million tonnes to 9 million tonnes—as part of its proposed expansion. Once implemented, the project is expected to boost the state’s economy, create large-scale employment in the steel and allied industries, and align with the central government’s “Purvodaya” vision of transforming eastern India into an industrial powerhouse.
The committee, once constituted, will work to address land, environmental, and logistical issues that have been holding back the expansion for several years. It marks a focused push by the central leadership to unlock Odisha’s industrial potential and ensure faster delivery of major infrastructure projects.
