November 22, 2008

TATA Steel may shift titanium project from Tamil Nadu

BS reported that TATA Steel is considering the option of shifting its INR 2,500 crore titanium dioxide projects to Andhra Pradesh or Orissa as it has failed to initiate the process of land acquisition in Tamil Nadu even as a year has gone by since the announcement of the project.

Mr S Asokan head of the project said that "We will talk to the Tamil Nadu government first before taking a decision. The mining project, which was announced in June 2007, needs an estimated 10,000 acres of land. However, the state government has failed to help the company in the land acquisition process."

Initially, sections of the local population, particularly those with strong political leanings, accused TATA Steel of attempting to acquire agricultural land for mining. TATA Steel is now facing trouble in acquiring land since small pieces of land aggregating to its needs are scattered among several hundred owners.