Steel giant ArcelorMittal's decision to scrap its planned Rs 40,000-crore steel project in Odisha would not have any impact on the state's ongoing industrialization activity, state steel & mines minister Rajanikant Singh said.

ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steel market, on Wednesday announced its decision to ditch its planned steel plant in Keonjhar district of Odisha, alleging that delays, due to red tape, in acquiring required land and an iron ore mine forced it to ditch the project.

But, Rajanikant refuted the steel maker's statement, and argued that the company never showed any real interest in setting up the plant at the proposed site. He also dismissed the possibility of any adverse impact on Odisha's industrialization efforts due to the steel maker's decision.

Speaking on the topic, the minister said, "The impression with the government is that the company was not interested for the project. .ArcelorMittal failed to take initiatives in achieving milestones and carrying out any corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities."

Earlier, a senior Odisha government official had said that ArcelorMittal could not acquire the 8,000-acre land it wanted because as it even failed to deposit the mandatory 10 per cent value of the land with the government.

Lakshmi Mittal-owned ArcelorMittal is not the only steel maker that ditched a planned project in the state. Just a day before ArcelorMittal's decision, South Korean steel producer Posco announced its decision to scrap its planned
6 million tones per annum steel project in the state because of delays in an iron ore mine and opposition from local residents.