Procurement of government land by industries in Odisha is set to get dearer with the state government deciding to fix cost of such land at benchmark value, a departure from the existing system of offering government land at pre-determined rates.

The decision comes close on the heels of clearing of the new Land Acquisition Bill by an empowered group of Central ministers. While the cost of land had escalated, the government land rates in Odisha were not revised accordingly. The state government which had constituted three committees to consider possibility of benchmarking cost of government land has now entrusted the responsibility on its investment promotion agency- Industrial Promotion & Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (Ipicol).