Umrangso to get new clinkerization plant; public hearing held in Halflong

A CORRESPONDENT

HAFLONG: Public hearing for proposed clinkerization plant at 19 Kilo, Umrangso, in Dima Hasao was held in the premises of Dalmia cement factory at 16 Kilo, Umrangso in Dima Hasao district on Tuesday. The hearing was organized by the Pollution Control Board, Assam.

The public hearing was conducted in presence of hearing officer and Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner, Simanta Kr Das and Assam Pollution Control Board Regional Assistant Executive Engineer, Aurobindo Das.

The hearing also witnessed participation of local leaders, senior citizens and representatives of villages which will be directly/indirectly affected by the project. The project is being implemented by Calcom Cement India Ltd, a subsidiary project of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) ltd.

The plant will be established in a total area of 37.47 Hectares (280 bighas) land at 19 Kilo village under Umrangso tehsil. The plant will have 3.63 million ton per annum capacity along with associated waste heat recovery system (WHRS) of 16 MW D.G set of 750 KVA and production of over 11 tons a day. Padmanabh Chakraborty, Executive Director, Calcom Cement India ltd. (CCIL), gave a power-point presentation explaining the project and how it will directly and indirectly benefit the nearby villages. Chakraborty said that once the plant starts to function, it will boost the economy of the area as it will create direct or indirect employment opportunities resulting in overall development of the region and generate enhanced revenue for the government. He also said that the eligible and qualified local youths will be prioritized for employment in the firm. Charkraborty also emphasized overall education of the region and assured educational development by assisting schools of nearby villages through various CSR projects of the company and ‘Greenbelt Development’ in the region for greater interest of the communities.

During the hearing, several local organizations and villagers, who will be directly or indirectly impacted by the project, laid down their demands such as 80% job reservation for the local youths, raw material supply and subsidiary contracts by locals, establishment of new educational institutions and infrastructure development of existing schools, introduction of multi-stream facility in college, scholarships for underprivileged students, proper implementation of CSR schemes with consultation with villagers etc.