PM Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu paid tribute at the memorial site in Pahadpur.
MAYURBHANJ: On June 20 2026, President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha to jointly unveil development projects worth over Rs 47,600 crore at Dandbose under the theme Vikas ra Dhara, Odisha Sara, marking the second anniversary of the BJP government under Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The visit coincided with President Murmu’s 68th birthday. PM Modi declared Pahadpur village the ancestral village of the President’s in-laws which they visited earlier in the day, a Solar Village where every household will receive solar power generation capacity and earn income by selling surplus power back to the grid. Addressing the gathering, Prime Minister said: “The daughter of Odisha has today reached such a high position in the country, guiding us all. This is a matter of immense pride for all of us.”
Both leaders offered prayers at the Santhali Jahera and Ho Jahera tribal sacred groves before the main event, visited the local skill centre and Pahadpur School and were joined at Dandbose by Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati, Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy and both Deputy Chief Ministers Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida.
The Rs 25,000 Crore Centrepiece
The single largest component of the package at Rs 25,016 crore, accounting for 52.5 percent of the total outlay is the foundation stone of the Bharat Coal Gasification and Chemicals Limited plant at Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda district. BCGCL is a joint venture between Coal India Limited which holds a 51 percent stake and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited at 49 percent. Larsen and Toubro Energy Hydrocarbon Onshore has been awarded the turnkey engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract for the ammonia synthesis unit. The plant will be built on 350 acres of land belonging to Mahanadi Coalfields Limited.
In plain terms, coal gasification is a process that does not burn coal but chemically converts it. Crushed coal is subjected to controlled oxygen and steam under high temperatures and pressures to produce synthesis gas primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen which then becomes the raw material for downstream chemicals. The Lakhanpur plant will use BHEL’s indigenously developed Pressurised Fluidised Bed Gasification technology, specifically engineered to process India’s high-ash domestic coal without requiring low-ash imports. The primary output will be technical-grade ammonium nitrate at 2,000 tonnes per day or approximately 0.66 million tonnes per annum. Commissioning is targeted for September 2029.
The strategic rationale is import substitution. India currently imports chemical products worth Rs 2.7 lakh crore annually. Once operational the Lakhanpur facility is projected to meet 35 percent of India’s technical-grade ammonium nitrate demand by 2030 generating approximately USD 360 million in annual foreign exchange savings. The Union Ministry of Coal is providing Rs 1,350 crore in direct financial incentives under its broader Rs 46,000 crore surface gasification promotion scheme.
Energy market expert Debasish Mishra notes that the project represents a paradigm shift in how India uses its coal reserves: “If the refinery revolution unlocked value from crude oil, coal gasification can unlock similar value from India’s vast coal reserves through ammonia, ammonium nitrate, methanol, hydrogen and downstream chemicals.” Industrial analyst Meena adds that the commercial-scale validation of BHEL’s indigenous gasification technology is significant because Indian coal’s high ash content has historically caused standard gasifiers to fail and this plant establishes a replicable domestic template for future coal-to-chemical investments across other coal-producing states.
Infrastructure Across Transport, Health and Water
Beyond BCGCL the package covers a range of completed infrastructure works and new foundation stones across multiple sectors.
In railways two multi-tracking projects were dedicated to the nation. The 19-km Jakhapura-Jajpur Keonjhar Road-Baitarani Road section was completed at Rs 323 crore easing congestion on the Howrah-Chennai trunk route. The 27-km Hindol Road-Meramandali project was completed at Rs 409 crore improving freight movement for coal, steel and industrial goods. Multi-tracking refers to laying additional parallel lines on busy corridors separating freight and passenger traffic to increase capacity.
On roads the 17.024-km Nayagarh Town Bypass on NH-57, running from Mankapalli village to Badapandusara village was inaugurated to divert heavy freight away from the congested Nayagarh town centre. Additionally the Dhalpur-Harbhanga Road in Boudh district was widened and strengthened and the Nuapada-Ghatipada section of NH-353 was four-laned. Twenty-four Atal Bus Stands and nine automated vehicle testing stations were also inaugurated across various districts. The testing stations use computerised diagnostic equipment to check commercial and private vehicles for roadworthiness and emission compliance.
Healthcare received a direct boost through the inauguration of a 300-bed District Headquarters Hospital at Boudh and a satellite centre of AIIMS Bhubaneswar at Rairangpur hospital in Mayurbhanj, accompanied by a free medical camp. In water the Mega Integrated Rural Piped Water Supply Project for Kusumi Block was inaugurated to deliver treated drinking water to 113 mining-affected tribal villages. The underground pipeline component of the Kusumi Smart Irrigation Project was also unveiled to reduce water losses that occur through canal-based evaporation.
Foundation stones were laid for several future projects including a 600 MW Upper Indravati Pumped Storage Project, two 660 MW units under Stage-II expansion of the IB Thermal Power Station, a 300-tonne-per-day Municipal Solid Waste-based Compressed Biogas Plant in Bhubaneswar and a bridge over the Kathajodi river linking Cuttack and Bhubaneswar. A Sports Complex, Tribal Research Centre and IGNOU Regional Centre at Rairangpur were also part of the package.
Mayurbhanj and the Broader Odisha Context
The choice of Mayurbhanj as the venue carries deliberate policy intent. The district has a Scheduled Tribe population of 58.72 percent, a literacy rate of 63.17 percent and ST literacy at 53.1 percent below both state and national averages. Odisha’s tribal population statewide is 22.21 percent. The concentration of piped water, healthcare and education investments in this visit is consistent with a stated effort to connect historically excluded tribal regions to mainstream infrastructure.
Odisha’s real GSDP grew at 7.9 percent in FY26, outpacing the national rate of 7.4 percent according to the Odisha Economic Survey 2025-26. The state’s nominal GSDP has reached approximately Rs 9.9 lakh crore. Under the Utkarsh Odisha investment campaign the state has attracted proposals totalling nearly Rs 20 lakh crore with projects worth over Rs 3.5 lakh crore in active implementation. The BJP won power in June 2024 by securing 78 of 147 assembly seats with 40.07 percent of the vote share ending 24 years of BJD rule.
Whether the Rs 47,600 crore package translates into the employment and income gains projected particularly in Mayurbhanj where agriculture and forest-based livelihoods dominate will depend on execution timelines, land acquisition and the pace at which the BCGCL plant and pumped storage projects move from foundation stone to commissioning.
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