Additional chief secretary (industries) Hemant Sharma speaks to Ashok Pradhan on the state’s approach to industrialisation. ■ Odisha has seen major investment announcements in the past (POSCO, Vedanta, Mittal) that largely did not materialise. What has been done to ensure current projects are actually completed this time? The current focus is firmly on grounding projects. The govt is playing a proactive role as it is in constant engagement with investors to identify where projects are stuck and to help resolve teething issues — be it forest and environment clearances, building plan approvals, or other regulatory hurdles. For major investments such as those by JSW, Hindalco and Vedanta, the govt has allowed phased commissioning while enabling them to continue availing all govt incentives and subsidies. ■ What about the challenge of land acquisition? Land acquisition continues to be a challenge. However, several steps have been taken to streamline and speed up the process. The focus has shifted to govt-led acquisition in clusters where land is available, with land banks ranging from 300 to 1,500 acres created at various locations. Benchmark land values are being constantly reviewed and revised to ensure that land losers receive fair compensation, making them more willing to part with land. For smaller investment projects of up to Rs 500 crore, where the land requirement is around 300–400 acres, land is readily available. This has helped accelerate project commissioning. For example, Epic Group, a leading apparel manufacturer, recently commissioned its Trimetro Manufacturing Campus in Khurda due to quick govt processing of land and approvals. The company carried out the groundbreaking in April 2025 and began production within a year. Overall, the waiting time for land, which earlier used to be around two years, has been reduced to about six months. In districts like Puri and Balasore, however, the waiting period for land still exceeds one year. We are working on this. ■ Mines and minerals continue to dominate Odisha’s investment landscape. What are the new and emerging areas? One of the newest initiatives is an upcoming rail-tech park in the Khurda–Nayagarh region, for which the land bank is already in place. Apart from this, Odisha is also attracting significant investments in sectors such as food processing, chemicals and packaging hardware. ■ What has been the impact of the West Asia situation? The impact has been limited. Some projects are facing delays in logistics movement, with shipments getting pushed back by months. However, most projects in Odisha are not heavily dependent on imports and the state’s fundamentals remain strong.
