Ferro alloys industries in Odisha have raised the demand to the Odisha government to exempt them from payment of electricity duty for 10-15 years from the beginning of commercial production.
Since metallurgical industries, especially the ferro-alloys industries are more employment intensive and also invest sizeable capital, the concession was essential for smooth operations, they reasoned.
The ferro alloys makers have lobbied to the Odisha government through the industry body- Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Assocham).
“Metallurgical plants require very high consumption of electricity, therefore, the electricity duty or exemption plays a dominant role in deciding the location. We request the Government of Odisha to exempt the electricity duty for the ferro alloys plants for the initial 10-15 years, depending upon the size of investment, from the date of commercial production. That will surely help to make the industry commercially viable”, DS Rawat, secretary general, Assocham wrote to Odisha chief secretary AP Padhi.
Assocham said, industrial policies by neighbouring states have provisions favouring the metallurgical industries. The Chhattisgarh government has already exempted electricity duty for 15 years to promote investments and enable industries to sustain in the initial yeas of production.
Electricity duty is a major component for metallurgical industries given its impact on the overall cost of production. Odisha which possesses 97 per cent of the country’s chromite deposits, houses the major ferro alloys units promoted by Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Ltd (IMFA), Tata Steel, Balasore Alloys, Visa Steel and Rohit Ferrotech.
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