Draft National Steel policy proposes online single e-window system

11 Feb 2013 Evaluate

Worried over delays in new projects and to overcome the constraints regarding clearances from multiple agencies, the draft National Steel policy has proposed an online single e-window system and sought enhancement of powers of the existing Inter-Ministerial Group, among other issues.

As per the draft policy, to overcome constraints related to clearances, the government will consider introduction of a transparent and easy system for submission and tracking of status of applications for grant of resources/clearances from multiple governmental agencies through an online single e-window in consonance with national e-governance plan.

The new policy draft seeks to replace the existing one that was formulated in 2005 and suggest ways to create an environment conducive for the growth of the industry that is weighed down by the issues like land acquisition and raw material scarcity. It stated that strong social resistance to land acquisition and conversion of agricultural land to industrial land even at adequate offer of monetary compensation and securitization are the major hurdles. 

The new steel policy is focused to push up the big steel projects like Arcelor-Mittal, Posco and many others, worth around Rs 3 lakh crore, which could not take off because of various issues such as land acquisition and delay in environmental clearances, among others. Further, the steel policy has also considered the involvement of a large number of agencies in project clearances as a major hurdle in 'creation of green field steel capacities.'

Recognizing lack of raw material security, as a major constraint in increasing steel capacity, the draft said 'lack of raw material security has been one of the major causes for tardy progress of steel capacity expansion. The government will consider to further strengthen the provisions of allocation of captive iron mines to steel producers in a transparent manner through a process of open bidding for all the well prospected mines'.

The new steel policy draft has also suggested enhancing the powers of the existing Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) for more effective co-ordination to cut delays in project implementation and resolution of conflicts, expressed hope that the new land Acquisition Act, R&R Policy and provisions of the proposed MMDR Act will address the issues soon. Meanwhile, the draft has projected India's iron ore requirement to increase to 392 MT by 2025-26, from around 200 MT at present.

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