Archive for October, 2008

1000 crore upgrade to Paradip port

Jagatsinghpur, Paradeep port, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga Comments Off on 1000 crore upgrade to Paradip port

Following is an excerpt from  a report in Financial Express.

The Public-Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPAC) on Friday approved two port projects worth Rs 1,008 crore proposed by the department of shipping, in a meeting chaired by economic affairs secretary Ashok Chawla.

The two projects, Rs 467-crore deep drought coal berth and Rs 541-crore deep drought iron ore berth, will come up at the Paradip port on a build-operate and transfer basis. The port situated near Kolkata serves the vast hinterland spread over the Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

"The projects will be awarded by early 2009 and the construction will be over within three years of awarding of the projects," said a top official in the department of shipping.

"The cargo, which is brought at Paradip port largely comprises coal and iron ore. Keeping this in view, the expansion aims at accommodating the extra large vessels. Dredging and construction of railway line will also be done as a part of the expansion plan," he added.

… The port registered an all-time record annual traffic of 42.44 million tonne during the year 2007-08.

Update on IOC’s Paradip project

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Following is an excerpt from a report in sify.com.

Thinning refining margin and a global crisis notwithstanding, Indian Oil will stick to its plans to set up the proposed 15-million-tonnes Paradip refinery. The company is optimistic about completing the project at a cost lower than the estimated Rs 30,000 crore.

“The sharp meltdown in commodity prices as well as the depression should bring down the project cost net of a devalued rupee. Thankfully enough, we are rightly poised to grab the opportunity,” a source said.

IOC is currently in the process of awarding the PMC (project management contractor) contract. “We have started receiving quotes lower than our expectation. The trend may only get stronger six to nine months later when the actual project tendering will begin,” a source said.

“This project was planned on a long-term perspective and I see no reason to rework on it,” the IOC Chairman, Sarthak Behuria, told Business Line. He, however, did not clarify whether the project would achieve financial closure by next month as was scheduled previously.

IOC has finalised the loan and equity components for the project. Initial agreement was reached with the identified lending agencies on cost of borrowings. The loan agreements are slated to be firmed up in November.

Latest news on Oceanic shipyard near Dhamara

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Following is from a report in Steelguru.com.

BS reported that Oceanic Shipyard Limited, a 50:50 JV company formed by the Kolkata based Apeejay Shipping Limited and Mumbai based Bharti Shipyard Limited, expects to commission its ship building yard and oil rig manufacturing unit in Orissa by early 2011.

As per report, OSL is investing INR 3,100 crore in the two projects to be developed in three phases over a period of five years and INR 2,000 crore will be invested in the first phase. The company has selected two sites for these two projects which will be developed simultaneously and had sought around 1,000 acres of land for these projects from the Orissa government.

While construction of a large shipyard has been planned for Chardia in Bhadrak district, the manufacturing and repair facility for oil rigs, off shore structures and support vessels would be set up at another site, north of the upcoming Dhamra port, close to the shipyard site. The project site for the shipyard has received administrative approval as well as clearances from the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority and the High Level Clearance Authority. The site selected for the manufacturing and repair of oil rigs and support vessels has also been cleared by SLSWCA.

Mr Sourav Das Patnaik CEO of OSL said that “The land acquisition process for both these sites has been initiated by the Orissa government and the company expects the process to be completed by November this year. While the site selected for the ship building yard is mostly private land, the site for oil rig manufacturing unit is essentially government land and is expected to be handed over to the company shortly.”

The shipyard project will have a final steel throughput of 350,000 tonnes of steel per year once it is fully operational after the end of five years. In the first phase, ships up to a capacity of 75,000 dead weight tonnage have been planned which will be scaled up to 150,000 DWT in the second phase and finally reach 300,000 DWT in the third phase.

Bhubaneswar mentioned in “Best cities for Business”

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, INVESTMENTS and INVESTMENT PLANS, Khordha 1 Comment »

Update: As suggested by a reader see also this article in Business Today.

Following is an excerpt from a report in pr-inside.com.

5. Bhubaneshwar: Bhubaneshwar is increasingly seen as an attractive city to a wide variety of potential investors. Over the last three years, nearly Rs. 6,00,000 crore of investments have already been committed in Orissa.

-South Korean steel major POSCO and the world’s largest steel company, Arcelor Mittal, have each announced Rs 50,000-crore plans to set up 12-million-tonne steel plants in the state. Then, Tata Steel has committed investments of Rs 25,000 crore; it is setting up a 6 million-tonne steel plant at Kalinga Nagar, a port in Damra and plans a SEZ in Gopalpur. Naturally, a lot of their offices and other infrastructure will come up in Bhubaneswar.

Other cities mentioned in that report are: Lucknow/Kanpur, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Surat and Bhopal.

Bharat Biotech of Hyderabad selected to develop the Biotech-Pharma-IT Park in Bhubaneswar under PPP

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, BioTech, Pharma, IDCO, Investment Regions, IT, IT, Back office, BPO, Khordha, Odisha govt. action, Others, PPP 1 Comment »

Following is from a report in livemint.

… Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a producer of vaccines and biotherapeutics announced that the Orissa government has selected the company as the developer for its ‘Biotech-Pharma-IT Park’ project under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.

The proposed industrial park is coming up on a 54.86 acre land located at Mouza-Andharua in Bhubaneswar.
BBIL will promote a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to undertake the integrated industrial park. The project is estimated to cost Rs100 crore and is slated to be complete in eight years, a press release issued here stated.

“Our task is to focus on rapid development of this park by developing core infrastructure and technology to enable establishment of new companies whereby new local entrepreneurs in the biotechnology field will be created,” BBIL Chairman and Managing Director Krishna Ella said in the release.

About 10 acre land, within the park, is earmarked for development of biotechnology incubation centre, which will be funded by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, for the equipment or instrumentation.

A formal lease-cum-development agreement will be signed between the SPV and Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO).

The Orissa government and IDCO, in principle, have agreed to provide all the external infrastructure facilities like power supply, water supply among others, the release added.

Prospecting of new iron ore mines

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Following is from a report in Steelguru.com.

… to augment the availability of iron ore, particularly in the context of number steel plants being proposed to come up in the state, the Orissa government plans to intensify exploration of iron ore at different locations of mineral rich Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts to identify new reserves.

The exploration work be taken up during the current year include the northern part of the Baliapahar iron ore deposits and Mandajorha area in Sundergarh district and outer Malangatoli area of Keonjhar district.

The directorate of geology of the Orissa government has decided to take up assessment of the iron ore lying in the northern part of Baliapahar iron ore deposit in the Sundergarh district. It will delineate the unexplored iron ore bodies in this area through survey and large scale mapping and then take up assessment of reserves through drilling.

Though this area was investigated earlier in 2 phases in 1971-74 and 1991-95 through mapping and core drilling, the drilling of the northern part was not complete. It has also been decided to go for preliminary appraisal of the iron ore occurrences to the west of Malangtoli and north-eastern part of the Mandajorha area.

As per report, this area was identified as the unexplored block during the last field season through inventory work. It is proposed to take up investigation of the area around Malungi and Mandajoraha during the current field season.

Sources added that there are plans to continue and complete the investigation program in the unexplored blocks in the Koira sector of the Sundergarh district for iron ore reserves. Geological mapping around Lasi, Jilkura, Marchidihi is proposed to be taken up during the current field season. Similarly, the government also plans to start the investigation of the iron ore around Rakma-Marsuan in outer Malangtoli area in Keonjhar district.

Sources further added that geological mapping and sampling will be taken up to locate iron ore bodies in this area which was prospected by the Geological Survey of India in the 1960s. Since the area is located in the vicinity of Bonai shoe iron ore synclinorium and very close to Malangtoli iron ore complex, the government feels that geological investigation will be beneficial from the point of view of exploration.

MOUs for ports at Chudamani and Astaranga to be signed

Astaranga, Puri (Navayuga interested), Bhadrakh, Bhubaneswar-Pipli- Astaranga, Birlas, Chudamani, Bhadrakh (Birlas interested), Puri Comments Off on MOUs for ports at Chudamani and Astaranga to be signed

Following is from a report in Steelguru.com.

BS reported that Orissa will set up a captive port at Chudamani in Bhadrakh district and an all weather multi user port at Ashtaranga in Puri district. It will sign MoUs with Essel Mining and Industries and Navyug Engineering, respectively for them.

Hyderabad based Navyug plans to invest INR 1,900 crore in the first phase for setting up the port at the mouth of the Devi river. While INR 1,500 crore will be invested for the port, INR 400 crore will be spent on railway connectivity. It will have a cargo handling capacity of 20 million tonnes per annum in the first phase.

Essel Mining will invest INR 1,500 crore to develop a port under a consortium of Aditya Birla Group companies for movement of cement, iron ore, thermal coal, limestone, gypsum, clinker, copper.

According to sources, it will have a cargo handling capacity of 2 million tonnes initially, to be enhanced to 10 million tonnes over a period of time.

A senior official of the state commerce & transport department said that "The chief minister has approved the proposal to sign MoUs with these two companies."

Vedanta has a good CSR advisory board

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Following is from a news item in Kalinga Times.

“Vedanta is already doing a remarkable performance in its CSR activities and it should come with more such initiatives in the near future,” said S.B. Mishra, former Chief Secretary of Odisha while addressing at the first Corporate Social Responsibility advisory body meeting of Vedanta Aluminium Limited here on Saturday.

Noted writer Pratibha Ray also expressed her satisfaction over the CSR initiatives of Vedanta and advised the company authorities to lay more emphasis towards development and empowerment of women in the plant locations. She particularly gave thrust on women taking up higher responsibilities in society and that all the trainings should not be confined to only basic subjects.

Speaking on the occasion, veteran actor Bijay Mohanty expressed his willingness to visit the plant locations along with the other members and wanted to personally interact with the localities so that the realistic need analysis can be made.

The meeting was convened by the Whole Time Director and CEO of Vedanta Aluminium Sector M. Siddiqi.

Speaking on the occasion, Siddiqi said “Vedanta always strives for improving the living standards of the people on a sustainable basis. The efforts of the company have started showing result on the ground. But this is only the beginning. The wealth of expertise and experience of the Advisory Board Members will carry our CSR efforts to greater heights and show us the right direction”.

The advisory board comprises of 10 honorary members belonging to the elite section of society. The members on the board include P.K Jena, Chairman, Institute of Advance Technology & Environmental Studies; S. B. Mishra and Sahadev Sahoo (both former Chief Secretaries of Government of Orissa); O N Mohanty, Vice-Chancellor, Biju Patnaik University of Technology; A.B. Tripathy, retired Director General of Police; A. B. Ota, Director SC &ST Research and Development Centre, Government of Orissa; actor Bijay Mohanty, besides three women of repute Rita Ray, Professor, Department of Sociology, Utkal University; Namita Panda, Chairperson State Women Commission; and writer Pratibha Ray.

All the 10 members of the board attended the meeting today and shared their thoughts on CSR with the top Management of Vedanta Group.

According to the company, the advisory board is meant to act as a bridge between the company and the people of Odisha. The board will regularly monitor the CSR initiatives of the company and would ensure that the benefits of CSR efforts reach out to the society at large.

Swosti Hotel group’s plan for Puri and Chilika

Beaches, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur, Bhubaneswar-Puri, Chilika, Circuit: Bhubaneswar-Chilika-Puri, Ganjam, Hotels and resorts, Khordha, Puri, Puri, Tourist promotion 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a report in hospitalitybizindia.com.

Swosti Group is redesigning two of its upcoming resorts according to chartered tourist requirements, since both properties were initially designed for individual and MICE segments. Puri’s Swosti Chandan Spa Resort and the company’s upcoming resort at Chilka, Orissa will undergo a number of redesigning and renovation processes as they target chartered segments (in large numbers), instead of regular tourists.

About this sudden change in plans, S Patnaik, General Manager, Swosti Group, told Hospitalitybiz, “We have experienced a sudden influx of MICE travellers in Bhubaneswar; this has resulted in many hospitality giants commissioning projects in the state capital. Similarly, other places in the state, especially Puri and Chilka, will be ideal to host chartered segments. Moreover, the segment’s favourite Indian destinations like Goa and Kerala are exceeding their carrying capacity; therefore, chartered operators are now looking for other options.”

The number of chartered flights to Puri is increasing from 180 to 250. Hence, Swosti Group is already in talks with leading chartered tour operators in India, who have exhibited an interest in the suggested places and upcoming properties. “Our Puri property was earlier designed with 70 rooms, but the inventory has been hiked to 100 rooms in favour of hosting chartered groups. The Chilka property, which has not been named as yet, will offer 50 cottages to start with, while it will be somewhat experimental with chartered tourists. The Chilka property will upgrade rapidly if it did well with the mentioned segment,” informed Patnaik. Slated to start operations in October 2008, both properties will take another few months to start. “The season for this segment (to visit India) is from October – March 2008,” added Patnaik. He added that even though the company will lose out on most of the season, it wishes to atleast begin catering to some chartered tourists.

On the other changes in terms of architect and design, Patnaik said that both properties will highlight their swimming pool as it is the biggest attraction for the chartered segment. The resorts will be equipped with bigger lawns and additional private areas as the segment does not appreciate external disturbance from other guests. “We are working on the properties’ sloping structures and the proximity of the pools and beaches from the resorts,” informed Patnaik.

…  We are inclining our properties towards chartered tourists as we will be able to provide them with the peace and serenity that they seek.” Swosti Group is also interested in presenting Buddhist tourism to this segment, in a new light.

National waterway Bill passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya sabha

Balasore, Bhadrakh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, National Waterway 5 Comments Off on National waterway Bill passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya sabha

Update: It was also passed in the Rajya sabha on 24th October 2008.

Following is from the Lok sabha Synopsis of 23rd Ocvtober 2008.

NATIONAL WATERWAY (TALCHAR-DHARMA STRETCH OF RIVERS, GEONKHALI-CHARBATIA STRETCH OF EAST COAST CANAL, CHARBATIA-DHAMRA STRETCH OF MATAI RIVER AND MAHANADI DELTA RIVERS) BILL-2006
AND

NATIONAL WATERWAY (KAKINADA-PONDICHERRY STRETCH OF CANALS AND THE KALUVELLY TANK, BHADRACHALAM-RAJAHMUNDRY STRETCH OF RIVER GODAVARI AND WAZIRABAD-VAJAYAWADA STRETCH OF RIVER KRISHNA) BILL-2006

THE MINISTER OF SHIPPING, ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (SHRI T.R. BAALU) moving the motion for consideration of Bills, said:  From time immemorial, inland water transport has served as a cheap and economic means of transport in India.  With the advent of faster means of transport, i.e., rail, road and air, inland water transport has got neglected.  Inland water transport has, however, maintained its edge over the other modes of transport in certain areas where it enjoys natural advantages.  Its energy efficiency, low pollution and potential for employment generation are universally accepted.  Since independence, the Government is seized of the need for developing inland water transport infrastructure to restore its rightful place in the overall transport scenario of the country.  The subject of inland water transport finds place in all the three Lists of the 7th Schedule to the Constitution of India.  The role of the Union is, however, limited to regulating shipping and navigation on the national waterways declared, as such, by Parliament.  The responsibility and executive authority for development and maintenance of all waterways other than national waterways rest with the State Governments.  Keeping in view the slow pace of the development of inland water transport in our country, several Committees were constituted by the Government of India which have recommended declaration of certain important inland waterways as national waterways.  The Government of India has constituted Inland Waterways Authority of India for development, maintenance and regulation of national waterways for shipping and navigation.  The infrastructure facilities on the existing three national waterways are being created by it to make them fully functional.  Most of the State Government do not have resources to develop their waterways for shipping and navigation due to which most of the waterways remained totally neglected and unexploited for navigation.
 Before a waterway can be considered for being declared as a national waterway, it is essential to undertake techno-economic feasibility study including hydrographic survey and traffic studies of such waterways to assess the extent of improvement works required for their development and their financial implications.  Based on this study and the potential of improvements in inland water transportation, it is now proposed to declare some waterways mentioned in the Bills as national waterways.

 SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN:  Infrastructural development is very important for economic development of our country.  Though, delayed, but then it is appreciable that a proper thinking regarding waterways in the country is taking shape.  Three waterways of Orissa have been mentioned.  I would like to mention Talwer.  It will become an important waterway. About 60 million tonne of coal is produced in this area.  Though, coal is mined, it is arduous to transport it.  It will be really a beneficial step to form a waterway for this purpose.  A water route has been formed by linking the tributaries of Mahanadi and Brahmani.  This is a matter of challenge.  We must have water in Brahmani river if at all we have to run it for the year along.  If there is a scheme through which Mahanadi water enters into Brahmani, it will keep Brahmani perennial. It shall be really very much beneficial if the Government of India, the Planning Commission and the Minister of Water Resources deliberate in this regard.


 SHRI LAKSHMAN SETH:  We have so many modes of transportation like airlines, railways and roads but waterways is also an important mode of transportation of our cargo and commodities.  This is very much neglected in our country.  Transportation through water is always cheaper, eco-friendly and environment-friendly so waterways should be developed.  Our experience is not so much satisfactory because already long before, one waterway, i.e. Allahabad and Haldia waterway, has been declared as a national waterway.  But, I think, infrastructure development has not taken place so far.  Terminal has not been done adequately and dredging has not been taken up to the considerable limit.  That is why, this important national waterway has not been used properly.

 Our nation is facing a severe crisis in fuel.  So fuel would be saved.  At the same time, environment will be certainly cleaned.  That is why there should be a law enforcing the public sector to use this mode of transportation in inland waterways so that the inland water becomes useful and at the same time the nation will also save huge money on account of fuel.

 The declaration of these two important waterways as a national waterway will help immensely irrigation and transportation of various types of cargoes and commodities.  At the same time, I am requesting the hon. Minister to declare the waterways from Haldia to Sundarban as a national waterway.  Another issue which I would like to bring to the notice of the hon. Minister is that in Bangladesh, there is an anchorage on the river Ashuganj.  If the Government of India can manage to have this anchorage then the distance between Halida, Kolkata and the North-Eastern States will be reduced remarkably and fuel will also be saved.   I congratulate the hon. Minister for bringing this Bill but at the same time I would request him to arrange adequate fund for implementation of the various infrastructural facilities.  Further, I would request you to look into the interest of the farmers.

            SHRI GANESH PRASAD SINGH:  The responsibility for the management of rivers lies with the State Governments but they do not have sufficient resources to shoulder this responsibility.  The travel by waterways is economical and time saving also.  This Bill envisages an Authority for the development of national waterways and sufficient amount of money has also been proposed to earmark for this purpose.   So this Bill is a welcome step.

 SHRI B. MAHTAB:  It is said that the total length of navigational waterways in India is about 14,500 kilometres.  Of this, 5,700 kilometres is navigable by mechanically propelled vessels.  At present, the inland traffic is estimated at about 1,000 billion tonne kilometers and the inland water transport accounts for barely 0.17 per cent.   The House should know that IWT is not only environment-friendly, it is also less capital intensive.  Lack of infrastructure, absence of fixed scheduled services, poor navigational aids, lack of connectivity, longer river distances and thin flow of private investment are the major factors that have stifled the development of this mode of transportation. Now we are considering the East Coast canal integrated with the Brahmani River along with Mahanadi Delta Rivers.  It is said that around 18.07 million tones of inland water transport traffic is expected to be carried out on the proposed waterway after it is fully development in eight years time.  I would like to suggest that the Government should prepare a roadmap for an Integrated Transport Policy for enabling better inter-connectivity amongst the multiple modes of transport.  There have to be provisions for an institutional framework for development of inland water transport sector.  There is a need to increase cost recovery and also to commercialise IWT industries.  An Action Plan should be in place to address the growing demand of repair and service facilities of IWT vessels.  I hope, the proposed national waterways will boost the rural economy and help decongestion of roads and rails.  I hope it will provide port-hinterland connectivity, especially between Talcher to Dhamra.  It will generate employment and also increase tourism activities in that region. I am sure that the Government must have appointed a consultant for undertaking techno-feasibility study and preparation of detailed project report for this waterway.  I hope that the interest of Orissa will not be compromised due to development of this proposed national waterway.  Lastly, I must say that regular dredging of riverbeds would be necessary.  The infrastructure currently available on this waterway is not adequate for safe, convenient and sustained shipping and navigation purposes. Once it is developed, there is ample scope to have substantial quantum of inland water transport traffic, but first the parameters are to be met and that too, within a specific time frame.

 SHRI M. SREENIVASULU REDDY:  I rise to support this Bill.  All of us know that there are different modes of transport.  Waterway is the cheapest, though slow.  I am happy that Buckingham Canal-which flows through Ongole, which is my Parliamentary Constituency, has been included in this Bill for the development.  There has been a lot of pressure from people living in between Buckingham Canal and Bay of Bengal for construction of bridges to enable them to cross the canal. I request that the bridges at the required spots may be constructed immediately. The area covered between Kakinada and Chnnai along with rivers Godavari and Krishna as Waterway is 970 kms.   There are 14 terminals that are being planned in this Bill.  Out of these 14 terminals, in my Parliamentary Constituency there is only one terminal, which has been stipulated in this Bill.  I will request the hon. Minister to include two more terminals namely, at Karedur or Ramayapatnam and Thummalapantawar near Kavali. There is one more important point that waterways do not provide door-to-door service independently.  Therefore, it is necessary that these are connected with rail or road modes for total transport linkages.  In my Ongole Parliamentary Constituency there is lot of potential in Granite/tobacco/Garments, food grains, firewood, etc. and providing of connected mode of transport to Buckingham Canal will help a lot.   The Inland Waterways Authority of India could make the National Waterways functional fully subject to availability of funds. Any delay will only add to the miseries in the field of transport. Hence, I again impress upon both the Central and the State Governments for an urgent action in this regard.

 DR. BABU RAO MEDIYAM:  Supporting this Bill, I wish to say that the delta region around Krishna Godavari Rivers was developed almost 160 years ago during the British times.  The present canal system is being used only for irrigation purposes.  These canals are now under the control of the Irrigation Department, and the irrigation canals are being maintained and regulated by the Water Users Associations in our State.  Now, these canals are going to be used for navigational purposes and there is a lot to be done in this case.  I would request the Minister to take necessary action in this regard, especially on the stretch between Bhadrachalam and Rajahmundry.  There is a proposal for a great barrage of Polavaram.  This has to be linked to the existing canals.  The Irrigation Department is not spending even a pie on these canals.  If these canals come under the National Waterways Authority, then what would be the allocation?  What is the role of the Water Users Associations?   Moreover, the existing terminals on the banks of the River Godavari should be taken care.  If ever this Polavaram Dam project comes up, then most of these present terminals would be submerged.  To regulate everything, you have to explore this Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry stretch of canal.  A lot needs to be done on the legal and financial front also.  Anyhow, I strongly support this Bill and I request this to be amended.

 SHRI ALOK KUMAR MEHTA:  I support this Bill.  I want to impress upon the authorities that, in 1985, the waterway from Allahabad to Haldia had been declared as the National Waterway.  One point of this waterway falls in Patna also.  Haldia Port is very near to this point.   In the beginning, points and ports had been constructed but lot of problems have cropped up, for want of proper dredging.  This waterway needs to be cleared.
Similarly, inland waterways system can be given a nod in view of the heavy traffic density in Patna.  The UPA Government would indeed do a great job if it declares it a National Waterway and undertake its maintenance and total infrastructure cost as it is beyond the capacity of any State Government alone.  However, if they undertake dredging the menace of flood can be averted to some extent along with the development of national waterways.

SHRI S.K. KHARVENTHAN: Inland water transport is an economical, fuel-efficient and employment-oriented transport.  The present waterways in the above ways are unsuitable for shipping and navigation.  Hence it is necessary to develop the infrastructure in river and canal portions by deepening and widening the bed for safe and convenient shipping operations.  The proposed infrastructural developments are planned to be completed within few years period in a phased manner.  I request the hon. Minister to take steps for completing the work as early as possible.
With the policy of economic liberalization Government of India has allowed private sectors for port development.  Hence, I request the hon. Minister to allow private participation in shipping in these stretches.  It will increase the service as well as employment opportunities for unemployed youths.  Another important aspect is regarding oil pollution in the above stretches.  Government has to take steps to establish Pollution Prevention Equipment in all terminals to protect and safeguard the river environment.  The Ministry also must take steps to provide all necessary facilities for day and night navigation.  Furthermore, the Government of India has to provide all assistance to states to develop other waterways in various States.

Inland Water Transport is one of the oldest and cheapest modes of transport.  But unfortunately, we have failed to develop it.  If the Ministry of shipping is taking a serious view on this subject, then it should and must come forward to allow Joint Venture of Private sector participation in this field.  The Standing Committee has also recommended Joint venture participation.  The Government should also concentrate on providing proper repair and regular servicing facilities for operating vessels in these waterways.

SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN: I thank the hon. Minister for introducing such a Bill.  However, I would like to emphasis upon the hon. Minister that nowadays most parts of the East Coast Canal passing through the district of Balasore have been encroached by various people.  In some places, there is virtually no sign of any canal because of the shrimp farming.  I shall appeal to the hon. Minister that he should see to it that the land which have been encroached by the land mafia should be recovered by the State Government.  Let the State Government take very stringent action with regard to this.  Then I come to the repair of the embankment.   In most places, there is no existence of any embankment now.  Those places should be developed.  If both sides of the embankment could be developed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, it will also provide very quick communication facilities for the people.  This will also provide an embankment for the prevention of floods.  Further, in many places, the farmers have put cross bunds.  They have raised many other obstacles.  Thus there is no drainage water facilities available.  Hence if a canal is dug, it could be drained and a proper drainage water facility could be provided there.  That would also save a lot of people and a lot of property being destroyed every year due to flood.  While dredging this canal, he should also provide for some small bridges across the canal in regular intervals because cattle will cross, because people will be going to their paddy fields for cultivation along with their cattle, bullocks and cows.  So, all these things should be provided now in a planned manner.

 The hon. Minister is also requested to go for sluice gates in order to prevent the salty water of the sea entering into the paddy fields.  I will appeal to the hon. Minister that he should set a time frame for the completion of these projects.  Otherwise, for eternity they will remain on paper and they will not be implemented at all.

 SHRI ADHIR CHOWDHURY: India has already three National Waterways and we are going to have two more National Waterways.  But we have to have some introspection whether just declaring some waterways as National Waterways will serve the desired purpose.  India is a country which has been endowed by the nature of so many rivers.  In spite of the huge potentiality that we have in our country we are able to exploit a very negligible portion of our waterways.  In our multi-mode transport system, inland water is so negligible that inland water transport system enjoys less than one per cent.  The fact is that in spite of plenty of potentiality in so far as inland water transport system is concerned, we have grievously failed to exploit the enormous potentiality and the enormous advantages in terms of fuel efficiency, in terms of eco-friendliness.
 So, first of all, what I propose to the Government is that we should offer some lucrative incentive to the private sector so that they could be drawn to the inland water transport system.  Only by the endeavour of the Government, we cannot attain our desired goal and to draw the attention of the private sector.  Our nature has itself done the engineering work for the inland water transport.  Therefore, we have the enormous leverage in this sector. The cost of development inland waterways is 5 to 10 per cent of the cost of developing an equivalent rail way or a four-lane expressway.  Insofar as maintenance cost is concerned, the maintenance cost of an inland waterway is only 20 per cent of the maintenance cost of an equivalent roadway.  However, we have failed to exploit the potentiality.

 We know that the entire State of Assam is prone to flood.  The highest river route is available in Assam so, if we are able to develop an appropriate inland waterway system in the Assam Region, I think it will be a great benefactor to the entire North-Eastern Region.  Furthermore, it will add a new dimension to our Look East Policy also.  We can cover the North-East and West Bengal by the inland water transport system and the entire route could be shortened.  It will also entail the growth of trade and commerce.  The three national waterways are there. I would like to know whether we have achieved the target, the goal before commissioning of the other three national waterways.  It will indicate whether the further declaration of national waterways will be lip service or will be a real objective of our country.
 I have a little confusion.  I would lime to know from the hon. Minister whether this amount of Rs.1,526 crore is the consolidated amount for both the national waterways or this amount pertains only to Geonkhali-Charbatia Stretch of East Coast Canal and the other amount of Rs.542 crore pertains to Kakinada-Pondicherry Stretch of Canal.  I once again appreciate our Government for bringing this Bill because when trade and commerce in our country is increasing, naturally we are facing a severe constraint in our existing modes of transport.  So, we need other avenues of transport and in this regard, inland waterways could be an ideal mode of transport in our country.

SHRI BHANU PRATAP SINGH VERMA:  Transportation of goods by roads is costly.  Whenever we have to send food articles to Kolkata, we do not get railway boggies as a result of which these articles of Bundelkhand and nearby areas do not reach Kolkata and other parts of the country.  Therefore, we want that inland waterway on the Yamuna river be restored and a port should be constructed at Kalpi Nagar so that unemployed youth of the above area could also get employment there.  Moreover, the waterways are also the cheapest means of transportation.

 SHRI SURESH PRABHAKAR PRABHU:  In fact, for a long-long time, the entire merchandise, the entire trade routes were passing through the great rivers of India.  Therefore, the waterways are not something new that we are innovating now.  Unfortunately, we neglected it and we are paying a price for it.  But I am very happy that now we are going back to the basics and we are now trying to create waterways for the country.  It will be cost-effective.  There several Ministries dealing with water.  The ministry of Shipping is now going to deal with one aspect of that.  So, when we are developing waterways.  I only hope and wish and really expect that the Ministry of Shipping will take into account the overall needs of the water sector in the country as a whole while planning this.  Floods have become common phenomena in India.  At the same time, some other parts of the country are constantly facing drought.  This is a golden opportunity; when the Minister is trying to create waterways for the country, why not also he integrates the drought and famine phenomena which happens all the time?

 SHRI GIRIDHAR GAMANG:  I support both these two bills because they would lead to economic development of the country and they would give new life to Indian inland waterways network.  There should be integration between your Department and the Department of the concerned State Government.  These two Departments will have to be integrated, not financially, but in respect of there aspects the Central Government will have to take the support of the State Government.

SHRI BIKRAM KESHARI DEO:  I completely support the Bill and welcome it because this will integrate the entire rivers with one another, and it will be direct link.  As the States do not have resources to develop inland waterways, it is high time that the Centre is now concentrating on developing these waterways.  Economically it is a very viable project.  You can use the flow of water for transportation of goods.   There has been a long standing demand in the State of Orissa that an Inland Waterways Regional Office should be opened because Mahanadi delta is a massive delta.  This will also enhance export and import activities.  Besides that, as Orissa is prone to natural disasters, this East Coast Canal, which we are developing now, will have a deterrent effect on storms and Tsunamis, and it will be a mode of transport to the entire interior Orissa.  After Independence, so many big water bodies, infrastructures and big dams have come up.  It is because of the formation of these dams and impounding of water, thousands of villages are on the other side of the reservoir thereby creating problems for the people to deliver the goods like PDS, health related activities, development activities, and transportation of people.  For example, in my constituency, Upper Indravati project is there.  It is a huge inland water reservoir covering 110 square kilometers.  It has with four dams and eight dykes.  There are about 72 villages on the other side of the reservoir.  So, to reach those 6-7 villages, we have to take a detour of nearly 100 kilometres.  But if the waterway is there, it will be about within 25 to 30 kimometres.  So, I request the hon. Minister, that the Inland Authority should be created for these big reservoirs for movement of PDS and for taking up other Government related activities.

 KUNWAR MANVENDRA SINGH (MATHURA):  I feel for the first time that after independence such a good bill has been introduced in the Parliament that is a welcome step as it would be beneficial.  Before Independence when the East India Company came to India it started inland waterway from East to West.  But gradually not much importance was given to it.  So its losses are before us today.  But today the need of the hour is that we should also gradually undertake such projects for other rivers of the country also.  Rs. 1000 crore were provided for cleansing the Yamuna river.  But we see that even after spending so much of money, sewer water and industrial waste are still being discharged into Yamuna which is really a cause of grave concern.

A project for the cleaning of the Rivers was undertaken during the regime of Late Rajiv Gandhiji, however, no special attention has been paid to this project.   River Yamuna is in a very bad condition today.  But we can develop it for waterways  which could include passenger transport as well.  If we can start waterways for passenger transport from Delhi to Agra, lakhs of tourists would travel thereby, thus developing it as a good mode of transport.  Besides, we can clean and beautify river Yamuna.  At the same time, rivers of the country need to be linked, as it would increase the flow of water in the river.  We would be able to ward off the damage caused by the floods and save crores of rupees and many lives. If we construct dams on the river, we would be able to generate hydro-power and provide irrigation facilities thereby curbing the menace of floods.  Likewise, a pollution free environment would be created and cheap mode of transport will be in place reducing the pressure on the roads.  It would help to set up new industries along the rivers in the remote areas. It would generate employment and develop the rural areas.  I would like to suggest that we need to formulate a comprehensive scheme for the rivers of the country.  Hon’ble Minister has taken a good initiative and I hope in the time to come, we will be able to develop a viable system and clean environment through our rivers in the country.

SHRI LAKSHMAN SINGH: Hon’ble Minister deserves to be congratulated for the Authority, which is sought to be set up.  However, we hope that the potential for the development through the rivers need to be properly addressed and considered.  We hope him to work with the national perspective.  We have a great potential in the North India. Likewise, there is a major river, Chambal, which flows perennially.   It has been included in the linking project too.  This river passes through three states i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.  If a waterway is developed through this river connecting these states, the problem of dacoity would be addressed to a great extent.  Besides, this mode of transport would be fairly cheaper and economical.

           SHRI T. R. BAALU replying said:  First of all, I would like to thank all the hon. Members who have deliberated in this discussion.  Definitely, all the deliberations that have been made by them are a matter of great guidance for me.  Since time immemorial, inland waterways transport has served as cheap and economic means of transport.  People are using this waterway transport as they are conscious of the issue of environment.  As you know, Allahabad-Haldia is Waterway No. 1, Sadiya-Dhubri is Waterway No. 2, and Kollam-Kottappuram is Waterway No. 3.  However, in all these three waterways, we could not achieve much success.  1985 onwards the Governments have not given the necessary attention towards this waterway system. The waterway transport has not developed to the extent other countries have developed it.  I would like to draw the attention of the august House to what we have done to develop inland waterways during the UPA period. A revised action plan for making the existing three national waterways fully operational has been drawn and it will be functional from 2010 onwards.  Funds have been provided to the extent of Rs. 961.64 crore. Investment of approximately Rs. 415 crore has been made between 2004 and 2009.  Seven terminals on National Waterway No. 3 at a cost of Rs. 10.32 crore have been constructed and commissioned. Low level jetty of a new fixed terminal capable of handling containers was constructed at Patna and high level jetty at Patna has been sanctioned.  Low level jetty at Pandu, Guwahati, on National Waterway No. 2 is nearing completion, and a high level jetty at Pandu on National Waterway No. 2 is under construction along with container handling cranes.  At various floating terminals, floating cranes and shore cranes have been provided.  Night navigation facilities have been installed in about 364 kilometres on National Waterway-1; 255 kilometres on National Waterway-2; and 100 kilometres on National Waterway-3.  Projects for providing state of the art 24-hour navigational aids on three National Waterways have been sanctioned and are under implementation.  Acquisition of six cutter section bridges, six watch boats, and six accommodation boats for carrying out dredging operations on National Waterway-1 and National Waterway-2 have been sanctioned.  Approval for setting up of six joint venture projects is on the anvil.  In response to suggestions and views expressed by the hon’ble Members, I would like to say that they would be duly considered .  In river Brahmani, accumulation of water will be ensured by constructing five barrages in that particular area. Environmental studies will be made.  Irrigation would not be affected.  We will definitely ensure that nobody staying nearby would be disturbed.  On irrigation and interests of the people living along the waterways, we will definitely consult the State Governments and do the needful.  As far as implementation plans are concerned, they have already been drawn and clearance have been obtained from the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry.  Local irrigation interests will be taken care of.  We are giving priority to inland waterways transport.  We have already done the Techno-Economic Feasibility Study: DPRs are being prepared.  The DPRs which are under preparation would take care of terminal construction etc.  The social problems will be handled only after providing alternative arrangements. Definitely, we would come forward with an Integrated Water Transport Policy in consultation with all the Departments. After the addition of two national waterways, total length of waterways would become 4,460.   By 2020 the share of inland waterways traffic would be not less than two per cent.
 

An amount of Rs.1525 crore is identified for Talcher-Dhamra waterways and an amount of Rs.542 crore is identified for Kakinada-Pondicherry waterways.  An Hon. Member has said that we should encourage Inland Waterways Authority of India to function better by opening a regional office in Orissa.  It is proposed to open an office in Orisa; presently, it is planned at Dhamra-Charbatia.  We should see that whatever waterways that have already been declared, should be made functional; that is more important.

The Bill, as amended, was passed.

River Cruise planned in Mahanadi: Samaja

Cuttack, Mahanadi tourism, River Cruise Comments Off on River Cruise planned in Mahanadi: Samaja

Kharabela Swain, MP from Orissa, has the guts to point out Lalu Yadav’s partiality

Odisha MPs, Railway network in Odisha, Railways 1 Comment »

Following is an excerpt from a the Lok Sabha transcript of 20th October 2008.

SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN (BALASORE): What he has done? He has taken one railway factory to his constituency, another factory to his wife’s constituency, and the third one to the UPA Chairperson’s constituency. … (Interruptions) We are nowhere.  Shall we be eligible to get any rail factory any time in life? … (Interruptions) People say that now-a-days jobs are being given in the Railways by taking land from them. … (Interruptions)

MR. CHAIRMAN: Please go to your seat. Let the Minister reply. I will give him time.

… (Interruptions)

SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN (BALASORE): Even now the Ministers in the Government are becoming Ministers by giving land in this country. … (Interruptions)

1707 hours

(At this stage, Shri Ram Kripal Yadav and some other hon. Members

 came and stood near the Table.)

… (Interruptions)

MR. CHAIRMAN: If you do not go, I have no other way but to adjourn the House. If you want me to adjourn the House, then I will adjourn it.

… (Interruptions)

SHRI KHARABELA SWAIN (BALASORE): It is because of this only. … (Interruptions) This is happening and nothing else. I strongly object to what is being done by the Railways. … (Interruptions)

MR. CHAIRMAN: Please go to your seats. If you do not go, I have no other way but to adjourn the House.

          The House stands adjourned to meet tomorrow, the 21st October, 2008 at 11 a.m.

One wonder if Lalu Yadav is the Minister of Railways for India or the Minister of Railways for UPA or the Minister of Railways for Bihar?

Thirteen projects cleared by Single Window Committee

Bhadrakh, Cement, Hydro, Solar and other renewable, Jharsugurha, Keonjhar, Ore pelletisation, POWER: generation, distribution, and management, Puri, Sambalpur, Single Window Clearance (SLSWCA), Steel, Sundergarh, Thermal Comments Off on Thirteen projects cleared by Single Window Committee

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

Orissa government’s Single Window Committee on Thursday cleared 13 industrial projects involving a total investment of Rs 27,193 crore. It includes three power projects, one steel, two cement, five iron ore beneficiation and pelletisation, on photo cell and one brewery projects.

… The big-ticket projects recommended to HLCC are Visakha Thermal Power Plant, Hind Bharat Energy, Lanco Solar, JSW Steel, Bhusan Power & Steel Ltd, Astarang Power Company Ltd and Welspun Steel Ltd.

While Astarang Power Company Ltd is planning to set up a 2640 mw plant in Puri district with an investment of Rs 11,200 crore, Visakha is proposing to set up an 1100 mw plant in Bhadrak district entailing an investment of Rs 4800 crore. The Hind Bharat Energy is proposing to enhance the capacity of its power project at Jharsuguda to 700 mw from 250 mw investing Rs 3150 crore. Bhusan Power & Steel, on the other hand, is setting up steel facilities for cold rolling steel, wire, rod, galvanised steel besides cement at Sambalpur, with an investment of Rs 2000 crore.

Welspun has plans to set up a 4.5m tonne per annum (mtpa) iron ore beneficiation and pelletisation plant in Bhadrak district with an investment of Rs 1900 crore. Simultaneously, JSWA is proposing to set up a 7 mtpa iron ore beneficiation plants and a 5 mtpa pelletisation plant in Sundergarh district investing Rs 1450 crore.

Among the projects cleared by the panel, Bhusan Steel Ltd is going to put up facilities for 4 mtpa iron ore beneficiation and pelletisation in Keonjhar district with an investment of Rs 850 crore.

 

Integrated Titanium Complex in Chhatrapur

Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur, Business Standard, Ganjam, Gopalpur port (under constr.), Multinationals, SEZs, Titanium Comments Off on Integrated Titanium Complex in Chhatrapur

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Titanium Products Private Limited (TPPL), an Indo-Russian joint venture, for setting up of a Rs 2000 crore integrated titanium complex and sector specific special economic zone (SEZ) at Chhatrapur in Ganjam district.

SM Shroff , chairman of TPPL and the state industry secretary, A P Padhi signed the documents in the presence of chief minister, Naveen Patnaik in the state secretariat.

The company will invest about Rs 2000 crore in two phases. While the first phase will cost about Rs 1200 crore, another Rs 800 crore will be invested in the second phase. The first phase will be completed within a period of 24 months and is likely to be commissioned by October 2010. It will produce 1,08,000 tonnes of titanium slag, 68,000 tonnes of high purity pig iron, 40,000 tonnes of di-oxide pigment and 10,000 tonnes of titanium sponge.

TPPL has already entered into an agreement with the Indian Rare Earth Limited (IREL) for the supply of the raw material Ilminite. The company will require about 2 lakh tonnes of Ilminite annually for its project. India will be the fourth country in the world to have smelting technology required for production of titanium. The products will have applications in the field of aircraft engine, power plants, chemical plants, automobile industry as titanium is light and corrosion resistant.

TPPL will develop a sector specific special economic zone (SEZ) at its plant site for which it has received the in-principle approval from the Centre. However, it will require additional land beyond 250 acres acquired for the titanium complex.

The Orissa government has agreed to supply 65 Mw of power and 3 million gallon per day water for the project.

Speaking on the occasion chief minister Naveen Patnaik  … He said, the project is the anchor industry for a sector specific SEZ for establishment of downstream industries in sectors like high quality paint manufacturing, automotive casting, ductile iron casting, sillicon and zircon based products.

Patnaik said, the upcoming port at Gopalpur and the integrated titanium complex are the foundations for an industrial corridor in southern Orissa. These will further be integrated with the aluminium hinterland in Kalahandi, Koraput anfd Raygada. For the purpose, he has requested the railway ministry to take up the Therubali-Gunupur railway connectivity at the earliest.

Stating that establishment of a quality vocational educational institution offering the most modern trades relevant for the industry will be an important initiative in the skill upgradation of the local youth, Patnaik said, TPPL should explore such possibility. Besides, it should develop partnership with the local technical institutions.

Open letter to the Prime Minister

Angul, APPEAL to readers, Balangir, Bouda, Gajapati, Kalahandi, Kandhamala, KBK Plus district cluster, Khordha, Khurda Rd - Balangir (under constr.), Koraput, Lanjigarh Rd - Junagarh, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarha, Sambalpur, Talcher - Bimlagarh (under constr.) 9 Comments »

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 FAX: PMO at 23016857 , 23015603 (Delhi STD code is 11), CMO at 674 2590 833 (home) 674 2535 100 (office) and Planning Commission at 23096699


 

To:

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister of India

Cc: Mr. Naveen Patniak, Chief Minister of Orissa

Cc: Shri Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Governor of Orissa

 
Subject: Solving the greater Kandhamala problem – going after the root cause in a war footing

 

Dear Dr. Singh: 

While the civil society in Orissa, the nation and the world is disturbed by the  communal violence in Kandhamala, I would urge you to take steps to eradicate the root cause of the violence in Kandhamala and the nearby tribal, hilly, forested, awfully connected, poor and backward districts of Orissa (and its neighboring states). In this regard, please note that the violence did not spread to the major towns and cities of Orissa (such as Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Balasore etc.)  that are well connected (by Rail and roads), decently developed and have a civil society. 

While the violence involving the murder of Swami Laxmanananda on August 23rd 2008 and the subsequent communal violence that has taken about 40 lives is most deplorable and is in the forefront of the media, please also recall the following events that also took place within the last year in these areas:

 

  1. February 15 2008:  400 to 500 armed Naxals raided the Nayagarh armory and killed 15 people including 13 policemen.
  2. June 29 2008: 30 elite anti-insurgency policemen were killed by Maoists near Malkangiri.
  3. July 16 2008:  21 Orissa policemen were killed in a land mine explosion and firing by the ultras in Malkangiri.
  4. Dec 27 2007: Eleven churches were ransacked and torched in several areas of Kandhamal district.

Please note that these events happened in places in Orissa (Nayagarh, Malkangiri and Kandhamal) that are badly connected, near or within forests, have a large tribal population, and are among the most backward districts of India. The following map shows these districts are surrounded by large tracts of dense and open forested areas, and partly explains why the naxalites and Maoists are able to make them their base and why it has been difficult to deploy adequate police there in a timely manner.

(NOTE: Phulbani is now called Kandhamala)

(Note: The lines in red are the ones that are needed to bring rail connectivity to the Kandhamala, Nayagarh and Malkangiri districts and criss-cross the big connectivity gap in the heart of Orissa. The crossed segments are already approved but progressing very slowly.)

 

Sir: As an economist and a world leader you must know that lack of connectivity, lack of development, lack of a civil society, entrenched forest and mountainous areas together with a different population base is a recipe for the sprouting of troubled areas. This is true all across the world; from J& K and North eastern areas of India to caucuses in Asia. While one cannot and should not get rid of the mountains or the people, the problem can be solved by making the areas well connected and bringing development. The Indian government is doing that in J & K and in the northeast; but has mostly forgotten about the similar areas in Orissa, Chhatisgrah, and Andhra Pradesh, which are the favorite bases of the Naxals and Maoists.

Sir: We would like you to pay the same attention to these areas in terms of connectivity, development, and creation of civil societies, as you do to the North east and J & K. In particular we would request that following be done in a war footing during the 11th plan.

(i)                  The Vijaywada-Ranchi highway that passes through many of these areas be completed.

(ii)                Broadband connectivity be brought to these districts with adequate access locations.

(iii)                Two Railway lines, parts of which have already been sanctioned by the Railways but are progressing slowly, are completed and made operational. Those lines are:

a.       Khurda Rd – Balangir (passes through Nayagarh and Boudh) – This line was sanctioned in 1994-95 is progressing very slowly.

b.      Bhadrachalam Rd (Andhra Pradesh) – Malkangiri – Jeypore – Nabarangpur – Junagarh – Lanjigarh Rdpassing through Kandhamala – Boudh – Angul – Talcher – Bimlagarh: Several segments of these lines are approved but progressing slowly. Those segments are Junagarh – Lanjigarh Rd and Talcher – Bimlagarh. Angul – Talcher is operational.

(iv)              With the above lines operational, development should be brought into Kandhamal, Boudh, Gajapati, and KBK districts (including Kalahandi and Malkangiri) through 1-2 Rail factories and public sector units that can use the steel and aluminum and power produced in abundance in Orissa.

(v)                Orissa govt. should be encouraged and aided to establish a university in Kandhamala and another in Kalahandi.

(vi)              A branch of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University be established in one of these districts.

(vii)             Orissa govt. should be encouraged and aided to establish a government medical college and nursing college in Kandhamala or Boudha district.

Sir:  In regards to the cost of establishing the Railway lines, please note that as per the calculation in  http://kbkrail.orissalinks.com/ Indian Railways is scheduled to make a profit of 2679.72 crores/year from its operations in Orissa. If 1500 crores of this money (the rest may go to Indian Railway’s current plans for Orissa) is put into Orissa, in just 2-3 years the above mentioned lines could be completed.

Sir: We sincerely hope that you will translate the great concern you have shown towards the recent violent events to the above mentioned action items that address the key issues of lack of connectivity and development in these areas and thus provide a long term and real solution.

Sincerely

 

Appendix:

1. Estimated profit Indian Railways will make from Orissa in 2008-09:

Zone in Orissa

Total Route Kms

Route kms in Orissa

Estimated

2008-2009 profit (in crores)

Orissa’s proportional share of the profit in 2008-2009

ECOR

2430

1607

3077.15

(next page)

2034.97 crores

SECR

1599

51

2529.89

(next page)

80.69 crores

SER

2577

589

2467.88

(next page)

564.06 crores

Total

 

2247

 

2679.72 crores

 

2.  One of the earlier planning commissions has noted in http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/stateplan/sdr_orissa/sdr_orich2.doc

“Railways have always played an important role in economic development and rapid social transformation in all parts of the globe. It is one of the key economic infrastructures. However, it is most unfortunate that in a poor and backward state like Orissa, development of rail networks has received much less attention of the Central Government in the post-independence period. There are as many as seven districts like Boudh, Kandhamal, Deogarh, Nayagarh, Kendrapara, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur out of the 30 districts of the state, which do not have any railway line passing through them. In the year 1998-99, the density of railway route length per 1000 sq. km of area in Orissa was only 15.03 km as against 42.66 km in West Bengal and 19.11 km. at all-India level”.


3. The tribal population percentage of the KBK districts are as follows:  Malkangiri  58.36% ST  (+19.96% SC),  Rayagada 56.04% ST  (+14.28% SC),  Nabarangpur 55.27% ST (+15.09% SC), Koraput 50.67% ST (+13.41% SC), Nuapada 35.95%  ST(+13.09% SC), Kalahandi 28.88% ST (+17.01% SC), Sonepur 22.11% ST (+9.5% SC), Balangir 22.06% ST (+15.39% SC). Two adjacent districts also have high tribal population. They are Kandhamala 51.51% ST (+18.21% SC) and Gajapati 47.88%  ST(+8.77% SC). 

 

4. The literacy rates in the KBK districts are abysmally low. Malkangiri 31.26%, Nabarangpur 34.26%, Rayagada 35.61%, Koraput 36.2%, Nuapada 42.29%, Kalahandi 46.2%, Balangir 54.93%, Sonepur 64.07%. Two adjacent districts also have low literacy: Gajapati 41.73% and Kandhamala 52.95%. The state average is 63.1%.

5. Population below the poverty line in southern Orissa (of which KBK is a part) is reported to be 89.17% of the people according to the 1999-2000 NSS data and 72% of the families according to the 1997 census.

Naupada-Gunpur railway line to be ready by March 2009: Dhartri

Gajapati, Naupada - Gunupur (Gauge conversion), Rayagada Comments Off on Naupada-Gunpur railway line to be ready by March 2009: Dhartri