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The Orissa government has said that the 43 steel firms, which had signed memoranda of understanding for setting up plants in the state, aimed to generate 58,510 jobs by the time the projects go on stream.
In a written reply to a question put by BJD member Sanatan Bisi, Steel and Mines Minister Padmanav Behera said that the some of the firms had already employed 7,523 persons.
Riding on the steel boom, the Orissa government had so far signed 43 MoUs with different steel companies to produce 58 million tonnes of steel annually with a total investment of Rs 137,000 crore (Rs 1,370 billion).
The state government is also examining another half a dozen proposals before finalising the MoUs.
South Korean steel major Posco, which pledged the largest foreign direct investment to set up a 12 million tonne capacity steel plant near Paradip at a cost of Rs 51,000 crore (Rs 510 billion), would roll out 12,000 direct jobs, Behera said on Tuesday.
Posco, which was conducting preliminary studies, had already employed 45 people.
The Naveen Patnaik government had earlier defended controversy-ridden POSCO project, saying the South Korean firm would create a total 48,000 direct and
The domestic steel major Tata Steel, however, promised 6,000 jobs for its proposed 6 million tonne capacity plant near Kalinga Nagar of Jajpur district.
As many as 10 steel firms were yet to employ anybody for their operations.
Sree Metaliks Ltd, which had pledged to give jobs to 1060 people, lived up to its promise, Behera said adding it had already given 1,051 jobs.
As per the list presented in the Assembly, Bhusan Group of Companies, Aarti Steel Ltd, Neepaz Metalicks (P) Ltd, Scaw Industries (P) Ltd, SPS Sponge Iron Ltd and Action Ispat and Power (P) Ltd were companies who led the list of job providers.
The steel and mines minister said Jindal Stainless Ltd had absorbed 1,733 persons on contract basis, besides giving 253 regular jobs.
The issue of employment generation in the new industries is a hotly debated topic in Orissa as environmentalists and activists have been up in arms alleging that the steel plants would not create jobs in proportion to the access the companies would be having into the state's resources.