Team Herald
PORVORIM: Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte on Thursday corned the State government on grant of permission for a steel project at Navelim village in Bicholim despite the proposal being rejected by the Investment Promotion Board (IPB).
Khaunte informed the Legislative Assembly that approval for the red category industry Mohit Ispat Mill was approved by the cabinet after it was rejected by Investment Promotion Board .
The Porvorim MLA charged the government for issuing permission to the plant despite power shortage in the State and said that the unit requires 13.2 MW of power, which is not available with the State.
Khaunte said the government has approved 98 projects under the Investment Promotion Board Act without appointing the satellite consultant.
The Porvorim MLA questioned how the IPB board, which is not technically competent, has approved the projects without checking the availability of resources with the State.
Defending the government, Industries Minister Mahadev Naik claimed that the board is competent to approve the project.
He said that the satellite consultant is selected by the government but is yet to sign the agreement with it.
The Industries Minister claimed that the industry has only sought to transfer its plant from Kundaim Industrial Estate to Navelim village. He ruled out that the industry has asked for expansion. The Industries Minister said the industry has been at Kundaim since 1992 and had applied for transfer in 2005 after it acquired land at Navelim.
Unhappy with the reply, Khaunte accused the minister of giving a false reply and promoting red category industry in the State leading to a verbal duel between the two.
Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar intervened and accused Khaunte of trying to mislead the people. He also questioned why the legislator was harping on a single unit.
