PM Modi launches projects worth Rs 35,700 cr in Jharkhand

Sindri (Jharkhand), Mar 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth Rs 35,700 crore in Jharkhand, promising to bolster development in the state.

Among various projects, he dedicated to the nation the Rs 8,900-crore fertiliser plant of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Ltd in Sindri in Dhanbad district.

"To make India a developed nation, it is also necessary to make Jharkhand a developed state. The central government is helping the state in every aspect. I have faith that the land of Bhagwan Birsa Munda will become a 'urja shakti' (source of power) for a developed India,” he said.

The prime minister also said, “We have to make the country a developed nation by 2047. Today, India is among the fastest-growing economies in the world. The country grew at a rate of 8.4 per cent in the October-December quarter (of the current fiscal), which is very encouraging." The Sindri plant, dedicated to the nation by Modi, will add about 12.7 LMT (lakh metric tonne) per annum indigenous urea production, benefiting farmers of the country.

This is the third fertiliser plant to be revived in the country, after such facilities at Gorakhpur and Ramagundam were dedicated to the nation by the prime minister in December 2021 and November 2022 respectively.

"Jharkhand got a gift of projects worth over Rs 35,000 crore. It was Modi’s guarantee to revive the Sindri fertiliser plant and it is fulfilled today. With the dedication of this plant to the nation, India will become self-reliant in urea," he said.

The prime minister said India's urea production now reached 310 lakh tonne from 225 lakh tonne in 2014, which is a significant step towards self-reliance in fertiliser.

He said the Talcher (Odisha) fertiliser plant is going to start operation in 18 months.

"India is going swiftly towards becoming self-reliant in the urea sector. This will help the country save foreign currency and that money will be spent in the interest of farmers,” he said.

PM Modi also launched rail, power and coal projects.

Various rail projects that were launched would help strengthen regional connectivity and boost economic activities in the eastern region.

“Development for tribals, poor people, youths and women is our top priority and we have worked for Jharkhand in the past 10 years," he said.

The railway projects include the third and fourth lines connecting Sone Nagar and Andal, Tori-Shivpur first and second, and Biratoli-Shivpur third line, Mohanpur-Hansdiha new rail lines and Dhanbad-Chandrapura rail lines.

These projects will expand the rail services in the state and lead to the socio-economic development of the region.

The prime minister also flagged off three trains during the programme.

These include the Deoghar-Dibrugarh train, MEMU train between Tatanagar and Badampahar and the long-haul freight train from Shivpur station.

In addition, Modi dedicated to the nation important power projects in Jharkhand, including the Unit 1 (660 MW) of the North Karanpura super thermal power project (STPP) at Chatra.

Developed at more than Rs 7,500 crore, the project is expected to improve power supply in the region.

In accordance with the 'PM Gatishakti Master Plan', the PM inaugurated the North Urimari coal handling plant of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, in Ramgarh district.

With a capital outlay of Rs 292 crore, the facility boosts a coal dispatch capacity of 7.5 million tonne per annum (MTPA) along with a coal storage capacity of 20,000 tonne and silo bunker of 4,000 tonne.

The prime minister left Jharkhand in the afternoon. PTI