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Couple of months back there was a big hue and cry about how Odisha mismanaged its power situation. We reported on news items on that topic in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3425.  The following news item from Samaja gives a different perspective of the issue. It conveys that what was happening earlier was that Odisha was planning ahead. If that is the case the Odisha government and its officers deserve kudos for their advance planning. Often we criticize them at the drop of a hat; but rarely do we commend them. This may be an occasion when they deserve kudos.

Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

While MindTree expects to kick off construction work on its Rs 200-crore development centre in the city by June this year, ICICI Bank, which had sought an extension of two years for its Rs 600-crore eastern regional hub, has been asked by the state IT department to start construction work by April.

… MindTree, a global IT and R&D services company, co-headquartered in Bangalore and Somerset in New Jersey (US), had entered into an MoU with the Orissa government in March 2006 for setting up its software development centre spread over 30 acres.

…  MindTree would initially recruit about 1,000 software professionals and eventually ramp up its headcount to 6000. Its development centre in Bhubaneswar will focus on R&D, consultancy and software development.

ICICI bank’s eastern regional hub would have a built-up area of 1.5 million sq ft and it will have a pool of 15,000 employees in the long-run. The project is to be developed in phases over a period of six to seven years.

Genpact Limited, the BPO (business process outsourcing) arm of the US-based General Electric which had announced a Global Delivery Centre in the city has submitted a fresh building plan to the Bhubanewar Development Authority (BDA).

“We are pursuing Genpact’s case with the BDA to expedite the company’s project”, the official said.

Genpact’s centre in the city will have a total built-up area of 7 lakh sq ft. Initially, Genpact would hire 500 people for running its operations and eventually, the headcount will be scaled up to 3,000.

On Raheja Corporation’s IT park, he said, land has been alloted but the company is yet to take physical possession of it. Mumbai-based K Raheja Corporation proposed to set up an IT park in the city over an area of 30 acres at an investment of about Rs 250 crore. This IT park would have a total built-up area of 10 lakh sq ft and it was scheduled to be commissioned within three years. The project would generate employment for nearly 20,000 people.

K Raheja Corporation had signed a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Orissa government in May 2008 and the IT park was scheduled to be commissioned within three years.

It is often mentioned that the Orissa government has a policy of not recommending mine prospective licenses to companies until they have invested certain percentage of their whole budget in ground. It seems both POSCO and Arcelor Mittal are pushing the Orissa government to overlook this policy. Orissa government should not do that. In particular, after reading the following, from expressbuzz.com I have a bad feeling towards Arcelor Mittal.  

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to put pressure on the State Government for mines, Arcelor-Mittal, the largest steel maker of the world, Monday said the company will submit a detailed project report (DPR) for 12 million tonnes greenfield steel project in Keonjhar district only after it gets recommendation for prospecting licence.

‘We will submit the DPR if the Government recommends our name for mines,’ chief executive officer of the company’s greenfield projects Sanak Mishra told mediapersons after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Official sources, however, said the company is yet to fulfil the procedural prerequisites for getting mines for the steel project.

A two-member delgation of the company comprising Mishra and Vijay Nagar CEO (India) Vijay Bhatnagar was explained the procedure to be followed before requesting for mines.

… Bhatnagar said raising finance for new projects has become difficult in view of the meltdown. On land acquisition, he said it depends on the cooperation of the people. Gram Sabha (village committee meeting) has been completed in three out of 15 revenue villages. A meeting with the people of the remaining villages will be held soon.

Sources said the company is facing opposition from the villagers who want land price to be decided before convening the gram sabha. The price quoted by the affected villagers is reportedly not acceptable to the company.

As per the MoU, the company requires 7,750 acres of land for the project. About 1,400 acres of the proposed site are forest land which requires conversion. Construction work for the project will start as and when a substantial protion of land is acquired, Bhatnagar said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer and tathya.in.

The State-run Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa Limited (IDCOL) plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore by 2015. Speaking on the occasion of the 47th Foundation Day of the IDCOL on Saturday, its Managing Director Ashok K Meena said a Vision Document has been prepared and, accordingly, the investment proposition has been envisaged.

He announced that with the rate of success in achieving Rs 475 crore as turnover and Rs 100 crore as cash surplus, the PSU has embarked upon for short, medium and long-term measures to make the industrial conglomerate a really international one.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

The Paradip Petrochemicals & Petroleum Investment Region (PCPIR), which has raced ahead to become one of the five fast track projects, is expected to attract a total investment to the tune of Rs 2.75 lakh crore.

The IL&FS, the consultant for the Orissa project, Monday gave a presentation to the senior officials of the state government about the development of the project. The presentation was witnessed by chief secretary, Ajit Kumar Tripathy, development commissioner RN Bohidar, industries secretary Ashok Dalwai, commerce & transport principal secretary Priyabrata Patnaik, special secretary Guru Ray, IDCO managing director Vishal Dev, among other senior officials.

The IL&FS vice-president, Anil Goel, said that the Orissa project, which was lagging behind, has made good progress during the last two months. According to him, the project is now at par with the projects proposed at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Dahej in Gujarat and Mangalore in Karnataka. He said that the project has been highly appreciated by the Centre.

Goel, who was accompanied by his Orissa head Manoj Panda, said that the project, which will come up over an area of 28,500 hectare at Paradip, will have Indian Oil Corp’s (IOC) Rs 26,000 crore petrochemical complex as anchor tenant. Besides the IOC investments, the project will attract investment to the tune of Rs 23,000 crore in township, housing and allied sectors, Rs 15,275 crore in external infrastructures like port, airport, cargo complex, road, while Rs 2.30 lakh crore will come in the hardcore industries of the petrochemical sectors. He said the investments would be by the private corporate houses, public sector undertakings, and in the mode of BOOST and PPP.

Following is Samaja’s take on it.

Following is based on a report in Pioneer.

• Secretary, Health Chinmay Basu was transferred and appointed as Secretary, Industries
• Secretary, Steel and Mines UP Singh was transferred and appointed as Secretary, Agriculture.
• Industry Secretary Ashok Dalwai was transferred and appointed as Secretary, Steel and Mines.
• Agriculture Secretary Gagan Dhal was appointed as Special Secretary, Planning and Coordination.
• Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC)-Central zone Suresh Chandra Mohapatra was transferred and appointed as Secretary, Energy. However, he would remain in -charge of the Chief Administrator, Shri Jagannath Temple Administration.
• SN Sarangi, Director, DTET (Director Technical Education and Training) will join as RDC, Central Zone.
• Additional Secretary, Energy Srikanata Pakiray was appointed as Director, DTET.
• Development Commissioner RN Bohidar will remain in the additional charge of the Secretary, Health till further order is issued.
• Secretary, Planning and Coordination Parag Gupta was appointed as Secretary, Tourism. He will continue to function as secretary to the Governor.

Update: Economic Times says:  While it takes close to 275 days to obtain a license for any venture in Mumbai, it takes only 159 days to get a license in Bhubaneshwar,…

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

The private sector lending arm of the World Bank, International Finance Corp. (IFC), on Thursday said India can greatly improve its business environment if the best practices, currently followed only in some cities, can be replicated across the country.

“India can jump 55 places if best regional practices (in 10 business areas) are adopted nation-wide,” IFC’s chief economist Michael Klein said at a panel discussion on the ‘Doing Business 2008 Report’ of the World Bank.

India is currently ranked 120 in the Doing Business Index.

The report pointed out that best domestic practices in the area of launching a business exists in Jaipur, dealing with licences in Bhubaneswar, registering property in Hyderabad, paying taxes in Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh, trading across borders in Chennai, enforcing contracts in Bhubaneswar and closing a business in Bangalore. These practices, if adopted by the entire nation, would significantly improve the business environment in India, he said, adding that the country’s ranking in 2008 survey went up by 12 places to 120.

Following is extracted from a report in Kalinga times.

Laxmi Narayan Gupta: Transfered from Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Energy Department, and appointed as its Resident Commissioner in New Delhi.

The government declared the post of Resident Commissioner equivalent in status and responsibility to the post of Commissioner-cum- Secretary to Government provided in the IAS cadre of the State.

Upendra Prasad Singh: Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Steel & Mines Department, has been allowed to remain in additional charge of the office of the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Energy Department following Gupta’s transfer to New Delhi.

Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra: Was appointed as Resident Commissioner on September 24. This is canceled. He has been appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, I.T. Department.

Surendra Nath Tripathi: Additional appointment as Commissioner-cum-Secretary shall stand terminated from the date Mohapatra takes over.

Vir Vikram Yadav: Was under orders of transfer as Executive Director, Orissa Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Bhubaneswar and ex-officio Additional Secretary, Housing & Urban Development Department. Has been appointed as Director, Rural Development and ex-officio Additional Secretary to Government, Rural Development Department.

The post of Director, Rural Development is declared equivalent in status and responsibility to the post of Additional Secretary to Government provided in the IAS cadre of the State.

Following is from a report in the Statesman:

The industries secretary Mr A Dalwai will hold the additional charge of the office of the chairman, IDCOL,Bhubaneswar, while Mr Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been appointed as the transport commissioner.

Mr Pradipta Mohapatra has been appointed as the resident commissioner, government of Orissa, New Delhi against the vacant post.

Mr AK Meena, at present, MD, IPICOL has also appointed as the Managing Director, IDCOL in addition to his own duties.

On the advice of the Orissa Public Service Commission, the state government today promoted several OAS officers (Senior Grade in Supertime Scale) to OAS (Superior Administrative Grade) on adhoc basis with a scale of payment of Rs.15,100-400-19,500.

The OAS officers who received the promotion to the superior administrative grade are Mr Anirudha Rout, Mr Bipin Bihari Naik, Mr Siba Prasad Mishra, Mr Gyanaranjan Dash, Mr Narayan Chandra Jena, Mr Bichitranananda Das and Mr Bhabani Sankar Panda.

Mr Gangadhar Singh, the collector of Kandhamal has been appointed as the additional secretary, higher education department, while Mr Hrusikesh , presently the additional secretary, law department has been posted as collector in Bhadrak.

Following is an excerpt from a Telegraph report.

Sukinda valley in Orissa�s Jajpur is one of the most polluted places in the world, according to a report by the US-based Blacksmith Institute.

The institute provides solutions to pollution-related problems.

From India, Sukinda has ranked fourth and Vapi, a 400km industrial belt in Gujarat, is fifth on the list of 10 most polluted places.

The valley, about 140km from here, is spread across Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts and has the largest chrome ore deposit in the country — 97 per cent of India�s reserves. Mining is done by the opencast method.

According to the report, �12 mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans and over 30 million tonnes of waste rock are spread over the surrounding areas. The mines discharge untreated water into the river. This area is also flood-prone, resulting in further contamination of the waterways.�

The problem is �beyond the means of the state to solve�.

Environmentalists said the report is damning evidence of the impact rampant mining has on Orissa.

… However, chairman of Orissa State Pollution Control Board L.N. Patnaik described the report as �silly�. �I see a lot of personal agenda behind the report. It is a design to stop mining activities. If there is mining, there would be some air pollution. But to say that Sukinda is one of worst polluted places in the world is ridiculous,� he said.

The comment by OSPC Board Chairman Mr. Patnaik is outrageous. He should talk about what steps his organization is taking, if any, to minimize pollution. Instead of saying that he talks about personal agenda. Does that mean OSPC is not taking any steps to reduce pollution?

The Pioneer reported that

In order to expedite works at rural level, the State Government has decided to give more powers to the Block Development Officer (BDO). The BDOs can sanction project up to Rs 2 lakh without getting the prior approval from the Chairman of the Block. A notification to this effect was issued on Wednesday.

Earlier, the BDO was competent enough to sanction a work upto Rs 25,000. If a BDO wanted to give a project more than Rs 25,000 to any one, he had to take the permission of the chairman of the block. The chairman had to make a counter sign on the bill.

Following is from Tathya.in.

… the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) the Government of Orissa appointed 1975 batch IAS Arun Kumar Samantray Commissioner Commercial Taxes as its President.

For the first time an IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank has been appointed in BSE on August 18.

1983 batch IAS Aditya Prasad Padhi,Resident Commissioner at New Delhi is appointed as Commissioner, Commercial Taxes in his place.

Mr.Padhi known as an honest and hard working officer will have a mandate to collect at least Rs.6000 crore of taxes.

1976 batch IAS Hawa Singh Chahar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department is appointed as Principal Secretary Forests & Environment.

1979 batch IAS Dr. Hrusikesh Panda, Principal Secretary, Forests & Environment is appointed as Principal Secretary, Fisheries & ARD.

He is also appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, OMFED.

1981 batch IAS Ashok Kumar Tripathy Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Higher Education is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Labour & Employment.

1985 batch IAS Gagan Kumar Dhal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary,Agriculture.

1988 batch IAS C.J. Venugopal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Fisheries & ARD is appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO and OPTCL.

1989 batch IAS Ms. C.T.M. Suguna, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur is appointed as Special Secretary to Government, Rural Development.

1991 batch IAS Satyabrata Sahu, Special Secretary to Government, Water Resources is appointed as Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur

1990 batch IAS Gautam Kumar Das, Special Secretary Higher Education is appointed as Special Secretary, Textiles and Handloom Department.

1991 batch IAS Vijay Arora, Special Secretary, Industries and Director, Technical Education and Training is appointed as Special Secretary , Planning & Coordination

1991 batch IAS Sailendra Narayan Sarangi, Special Secretary, Steel & Mines is appointed as Special Secretary, Industries

He is also appointed as Director, Technical Education and Training.

1991 batch IAS Rahas Bihari Nayak, Special Secretary, Planning & Coordination is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary Higher Education.

1993 batch IAS Surendra Kumar, Director, Fisheries,is appointed as Additional Secretary , Water Resources.

1993 batch IAS Bibhu Prasad Mishra,Additional Secretary Higher Education Department is appointed as Director, ST & SC Development.

1994 batch IAS Narayan Prasad Das, Director, ST & SC Development is appointed as Director, Sports & Youth Services.

1995 batch IAS Bishnupada Sethi, Director, Veterinary Services and Animal Husbandry is given additional charge of Director, Fisheries.

1998 batch IAS Vishal Gagan, Director, Sports & Youth Services is appointed as Joint Secretary , Energy.

For a list of Orissa Cadre (non-promotee) IAS officers one can visit the site http://persmin.nic.in/CivilList/AsOnToday/MasterQryCL.asp and query appropriately. The executive record of each of the non-promotee IAS officer can be queried at http://persmin.nic.in/ersheet/ProcessQryERS.asp.

A couple of days earlier the Mass Education minister Mr. Bishnu Das resigned. For now, that department is under the charge of the CM.