Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy has asked Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to direct industrial units in Ganjam district to give priority to local youth in recruitment, after hundreds of candidates reportedly failed to qualify for jobs at a proposed solar manufacturing facility in the Gopalpur industrial park.
In a letter to the chief minister, Panigrahy sought intervention in the recruitment process for a solar industrial unit that is expected to be established at Gopalpur. He said more than 450 local youths attended a recent recruitment drive conducted by the company.
According to the MP, only 43 candidates were selected, and those appointments were for lower-grade positions including housekeeping and construction work. The remaining candidates were rejected on the ground that they lacked experience in the sector, he said.
Panigrahy claimed that the company had not applied the same experience requirement during recruitment drives in other states. He has therefore requested that the experience criterion be relaxed for local candidates and that the company provide on-the-job training to help them qualify for employment.
The MP also called for a fresh and transparent recruitment exercise. His demands include priority hiring for eligible local applicants and strict implementation of the state’s industrial policy. The intervention places the recruitment practices of industries entering Ganjam under scrutiny, particularly where large projects are expected to create employment in areas surrounding industrial parks.
The company involved is Saatvik Solar Industries, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the Odisha government in August for setting up a 3.6 GW solar cell manufacturing facility at the Gopalpur industrial park. The report did not specify the proposed project’s construction schedule, total investment, expected workforce or the number of permanent and contract positions to be created.
The recruitment dispute also highlights the gap that can emerge between industrial investment and access to jobs for residents of the host district. While companies may use sector-specific experience requirements, local applicants may not have had access to earlier opportunities in the same industry. Training and entry-level pathways therefore become central to whether industrial expansion produces employment for nearby communities.
Panigrahy has urged the chief minister to ensure that the company conducts a new recruitment process and provides training for local candidates. The next step sought in the letter is state intervention to review the recruitment criteria and ensure that the proposed hiring process follows the applicable industrial policy.
