Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday unveiled industrial projects worth more than Rs 39,000 crore at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district, positioning the industrial hub as a major destination for new investment and manufacturing activity in the state.
According to a report by The Times of India, projects worth Rs 31,607 crore were inaugurated, while foundation stones were laid for projects valued at another Rs 7,776 crore. The announcement combines projects at different stages of development, with the inaugurated investments representing facilities that have already reached completion or operational readiness and the foundation-stone projects entering the implementation phase.
Majhi said the investments reflected investor confidence in Odisha and demonstrated Kalinganagar’s growing importance as an industrial centre. The report did not specify the individual companies, sectors, employment projections, land requirements or commissioning schedules for the projects unveiled at the event.
The industrial hub, located in Jajpur district, has developed as one of Odisha’s principal centres for large-scale industry. The scale of the latest announcement places attention on the infrastructure and administrative systems required to support industrial expansion, including transport connectivity, power supply, water access, worker housing and local public services. Details of the specific infrastructure commitments linked to the projects were not included in the supplied report.
Majhi used the event to contrast the state government’s investment agenda with the protests and political activities of opposition parties. He described unnamed critics as people “roaming around like cockroaches” and accused them of attempting to obstruct the country’s progress. He said the BJP governments at the Centre and in Odisha were focused on development and attracting investment.
The chief minister’s remarks came as the INDIA bloc and the Biju Janata Dal were protesting over the Special Intensive Revision, among other issues. He alleged that opposition parties lacked a development vision and were focused on protests and political activity. The statements were made during the investment event and were not accompanied, in the supplied report, by details of the projects’ implementation milestones or monitoring arrangements.
In Bhubaneswar, former chief minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik responded at a party event by saying development had been the main agenda during the BJD government’s tenure. He alleged that farmers, women, senior citizens, poor households and the middle class were facing hardships under the current government, and criticised what he called its inefficiency. Patnaik urged party workers to remain engaged with public issues and hold the government accountable.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das said opposition parties were fighting to defend democracy and that their campaign would intensify. The contrasting statements place the Kalinganagar announcement within a wider political dispute over the meaning and performance of development in the state.
The immediate next steps for the foundation-stone projects, including construction schedules, approvals, financing arrangements and expected commissioning dates, were not specified in the report. Those details will determine how quickly the announced investment translates into operating industrial capacity and new demands on Kalinganagar’s surrounding urban and civic infrastructure.
