Parliament Question: Commissioning of Talcher Fertilizer Plant

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS DEPARTMENT OF FERTILIZERS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2745 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 17.03.2026 Commissioning of Talcher Fertilizer Plant 2745: Dr. Sasmit Patra: Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state: (a) the details of the Talcher Fertilizer Plant's commissioning status as on date; (b) the reasons for the delay in commissioning of the Plant; (c) the number of employees from Odisha expected to gain employment in this Plant; and (d) the total production capacity envisaged out of which how much product quantity would be earmarked for the farmers of Odisha? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL) (a) to (c) As per the information received from MD, TFL, the project is 71.24% complete as on February 2026. Plant commissioning is scheduled in December,2027. The following reasons for the delay in commissioning of the Plant: i. Delay due to onset of COVID-19 pandemic immediately after awarding the contract to main LSTK contractor Wuhuan Engineering, China (WECL). ii. Delay in placement of Supply Orders for equipment by M/s WECL since initial phase of the project. iii. Reluctance in honouring various techno-commercial terms & conditions of contract by M/s. WECL. iv. Incomplete documents submission with invoices by M/s WECL leading to difficulties in payment. v. Inadequate deployment of resources like manpower and machinery by WECL since beginning. vi. WECL Demanding cost escalation from TFL since beginning of the project which is beyond contractual terms and conditions.-2- vii. VISA issues with Chinese personnel required by WECL caused by covid-19 and adverse geo political scenario Approx. 2000 people will get direct/indirect employment during construction/running period. Preference is being given to the people from Odisha State. (d) Before the commencement of each cropping season, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), in consultation with all the State Governments, assesses the State-wise & month-wise requirement of fertilizers. On the basis of requirement projected by DA&FW, D/o Fertilizers allocates adequate quantities of fertilizers to States by issuing monthly supply plan. However, the fertilizers produced by domestic manufacturing units are pooled at the national level and allocated to States based on their assessed requirements. As such, no specific quantity of fertilizers produced from any particular plant is earmarked exclusively for the farmers of a particular State, including Odisha. The Department of Fertilizers ensures that the fertilizer requirements of all States, including Odisha, are met through a balanced mix of domestic production and imports to maintain adequate availability and equitable distribution across the country. Accordingly, the availability of fertilizers against the requirement has remained adequate in the State of Odisha during the ongoing Rabi 2025–26 season. *******