NAGPUR, Aug 6: The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has reportedly justified the allotment of land to Ispat Industries Limited (erstwhile Nippon Denro) for its proposed power unit near Bhadrawati Ordnance Factory in Chandrapur district. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member from Nagpur, Banwarilal Purohit, had accused the coalition Government in Maharashtra last month of unduly favouring the Mittal Group-owned company. Purohit had claimed that land near the Ordnance Factory Board was allotted to the company for captive coal mining despite objections from defence officials, adding, the then union defence minister Pramod Mahajan had influenced the decision.

The MPCC had appointed a three-member fact-finding committee in July under the chairmanship of its general secretary, Avinash Pande, to probe the facts concerning the captive mines allotted to the power project at Bhadrawati.Pande, who toured the area and met a cross-section of the people affected, including officials of defence project, Ispat group and project affected farmers prepared a 400-page report on the controversial issue and submitted it to the MPCC on August 2.

In his report, the MPCC general secretary said that most of the allegations made by Purohit were exaggerated.

He stated that the proposed power unit was justified in the interest of industrial development of the backward Vidarbha region.

Dismissing Purohit's charge that as per the guidelines, mining activities should not be undertaken within 25 kms of the defence project, Pande pointed out that there were as many as 22 coal mines of Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) within 30 kms of the project. The nearest coal mine was situated within 10 kms, the report also added. However, the fact-finding report conceded that the land allotted to the Central India Coal Company of Ispat group at Baranj was adjacent to the defence project.

The issue was raised before Ispat officials who reportedly replied that it would be difficult for them to shift the plant as coal cover was near the defence project. Hence it would be better if the Ordnance Factory was shifted instead, Ispat officials are reported to have said.The report also questioned the credibility of the Government as the agreement between the company and the State Government was drawn up two days after the Nagpur bench of Mumbai High Court issued summons in this case. However, the Congress team was satisfied with the compensation amount given to the affected farmers while acquiring the land.

The Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee would table the report in its working committee meeting soon. Meanwhile, a group of senior party leaders were believed to have lobbied for the Mittals. The power project was offered to the Ispat group when N K P Salve, who is understood to be close to the Mittals, was the union minister for power.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.