Archive for the 'Odisha govt. action' Category

With one of its best officers at the helm several hospital and medical college projects are making progress

Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Balangir, Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, Ganjam, HEALTHCARE and HOSPITALS, Keonjhar, Khordha, Koraput, Koraput- Jeypore- Sunabedha- Damanjodi, Medical, nursing and pharmacy colleges, Odisha govt. action, Rayagada- Therubali, Rourkela- Kansbahal, SAIL, State Bureaucrats (IAS, OAS, etc.), State Ministers, Sundergarh 6 Comments »

Update: SAIL RSP has now agreed to consider upgrading IGH (Ispat general Hospital) to a medical college. All that was needed was the CM asking for it. The Odia papers suggest that he already agreed. If this works out then the 4 public sectors MCL, NTPC, NALCO and SAIL will each be making medical colleges at Talcher, Sundergarh, Koraput and Rourkela respectively.

If the IGH upgradation happens it will be the second medical college in Rourkela. (Note that HiTech medical college is now operational in Rourkela and has taken the first batch of MBBS students.) When the NTPC medical college is made in Sundergarh, the medical college count in that district will then go to 3.

Next Odisha government must push the other companies that heavily use Odisha minerals to contribute at the similar level. The TATAs who have mining in Odisha for more than 100 years should be told to establish medical colleges in Joda-Barbil and Sukinda-Kalinganagar and do much more.


Following are some of the projects that are in progress as collected from various media reports.

  • NALCO has agreed to build a medical college at Koraput. A few days back (I think sometime in June 2012) the state government decided to ask NALCO for this and this was in the media around July 3rd. The NALCO officials met the concerned government officials on July 5th and NALCO immediately agreed to this proposal. In the past the public sectors MCL and NTPC had agreed to establish medical colleges in Talcher and Sundergarh respectively. Odisha now must push SAIL for a medical college in Rourkela.
  • As per this Times of India report: "New Delhi-based OSL Group’s Centre for Joint Disorders will established a 150-seat medical college, 750-bed super-speciality hospital, a dental college and a nursing college in Bhubaneswar. The group has promised to start work within two months…"
  • As per this Times of India report: "The upcoming Sardar Rajas medical college and hospital at Jaring in Kalahandi district, being established by Selvam Education and Charitable Trust of Tamil Nadu, will start admitting students from the next academic year …"
  • As per this Times of India report: "The sDFID of UK has been preparing a report to facilitate a medical college in Balangir. "
  • As per this Times of India report: "land transfer work for the proposed medical college by Sahyog Foundation in Keonjhar will be fast-tracked"
  • As per this Times of India report: "the government would soon examine the proposals of Basantidevi Charitable Trust and Bidyabharti Charitable Trust as well to open a medical college in Rayagada."
  • As per this Times of India report: "The government has also agreed in principle to a proposal from Shankar Netralaya of Chennai to start a 200-bed eye hospital in Berhampur."
  • As per this Times of India report: "The government on Tuesday asked Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya, which has taken land from the state government to establish a super-speciality hospital in Bhubaneswar, or start work or return the land. The group assured to start work by September.
  • As per this article in Business Standard: " Odisha government today asked the Centre to set up a National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Science (NIMHANS) besides expediting establishment of a para-medical training institute in the state."
  • As per this article in Telegraph: "The Acharya Harihar Cancer Institute at Cuttack will be upgraded and seats along with number of employees will be enhanced, said Union Health Secretary Prasanna Kumar Pradhan while attending a review meeting here on Sunday. It will be an apex institute in the country, Pradhan added. In the review meeting, Pradhan said Rs 200 crore would be sanctioned during the 12th Five-Year Plan to upgrade this premier cancer treatment institute of the State. Now the institute has 320 beds which will be increased to 600, he added."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "the minister also asked the Union health secretary to expedite process for establishment of the proposed Regional Institute of Paramedical Sciences (RIPS). The state government has already given around 25 acre land for the paramedical institute near the AIIMS."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "The state government sought financial assistance for infrastructure development of the three medical colleges to increase the MBBS seat strength from the current 150 to 250 each."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "The government also submitted a proposal to create super-speciality disciplines in VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla and MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. The government has sought central assistance of Rs 150 crore each for superspeciality faculty in the two hospitals."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "Acharya requested the Union health secretary to upgrade the geriatric ward of SCB Medical College and Hospital into a Regional Geriatric centre. Designating a regional centre will attract better central funding, Acharya said. "

A good news and a bad news:

  • Good News: Hi-Tech medical college in Rourkela has got approval to admit 100 students fro this academic year. This will be the 4th private medical college (and the first outside of Bhubaneswar) in operation in Odisha.
  • Bad News: KIMS Bhubaneswar has been debarred to admit students for two year.

Odisha reduces the perecentage of people below poverty lines from 57.2% (in 2004-05) to 37% (in 2009-10)

Odisha govt. action, Planning Commission and Odisha 2 Comments »

This is a big reduction. The data is from http://planningcommission.nic.in/news/press_pov1903.pdf. (Thanks to Umashankar Das for the pointer.)

Some of the interesting aspects of the above data are as follows:

  • In 2009-10 the total number of persons below poverty line in Odisha is 153.2 lakhs. The number for Andhra Pradesh is 176.6 lakhs, Bihar is 543.5 lakhs, Chhatisgarh is 121.9 lakhs, Gujarat is 136.2 lakhs, Jharkhand is 126.2 lakhs, Karnataka is 142.3 lakhs, MP is 261.8 lakhs, Maharashtra is 270.8 lakhs, Rajasthan is 167 lakhs, Tamil Nadu is 121.8 lakhs, UP is 737.9 lakhs and West Bengal is 240.3 lakhs. So the number of persons below poverty limit in Odisha is close to that of Gujarat, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, states considered to be more industrialized and richer.
  • In 2009-10 the number of persons below poverty line in the urban areas are: 17.7 lakhs in Odisha, 11.2 lakhs in Assam, 48.7 lakhs in Andhra Pradesh, 44.8 lakhs in Bihar, 13.6 lakhs in Chhatisgarh, 22.9 lakhs in Delhi, 44.6 lakhs in Gujarat, 19.6 lakhs in Haryana, 24 lakhs in Jharkhand, 44.9 lakhs in Karnataka, 18 lakhs in Kerala, 44.9 lakhs in MP, 90.9 lakhs in Maharashtra, 18.4 lakhs in Punjab, 33.2 lakhs in Rajasthan, 43.5 lakhs in Tamil Nadu, 137.3 lakhs in UP, 7.5 lakhs in Uttarakhand and 62.5 lakhs in West Bengal. So the urban poverty numbers in Odisha is less than that of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi and much less than the most of the other states mentioned above. But this is partly because Odisha has a much smaller overall urban population
  • The above numbers are based on cut-offs calculated by the "Tendulkar Methodology" and these cut-offs vary from state to state and are different for rural and urban areas. As shown in the first table, Odisha has the lowest cut-off numbers for both rural and urban areas. For rural areas of Odiha the cutoff is Rs 567.1 per month and for urban areas it is Rs 736. (See the recent Hindu and Business Standard articles for criticisms about the methodology that has been used above.)

Some highlights from the Odisha government budget for 2012-13

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The following highlights are from http://www.orissa.gov.in/finance/Budgets/2012-13/BUDGET%20SPEECH%20ENGLISH.pdf. (This year’s and several previous year’s budgets since 2004-05 are linked from http://www.orissa.gov.in/finance/Budgets/default.html.)

  • Rs. 5.00 Cr has been provided for management and development of Elephant Corridor in the State during the year 2012-13.
  • Allocation for purchase of medicines for Government run hospitals has been increased from Rs.50.00 crore to Rs.104.56 crore.
  • … decided to enhance the intake capacity of all the three Medical Colleges from 150 to 250 within a period of four years. This project will require investment of Rs.400.00 crore for development of necessary infrastructure and other facilities. Rs.32.30 crore has been allocated for this project under State Plan.
  • Launching of “Emergency Medical Ambulance Services” in the State would be another major intervention for strengthening health security. In the first phase 15 districts will be covered under this new scheme. Rs.10.00 crore from Odisha Health System Project Fund has been allocated during current financial year for purchase of Ambulances. In the present allocation operational cost of Rs.6.22 crore has been provided.
  • Total allocation in School and Mass Education Department is enhanced from Rs.5307.44 crore to Rs.6525.40 crore this year.
  • Rs. 18.60 crore has been provided towards state share for opening of Govt. Colleges in the districts with low Gross Enrolment Ratio.
  • Rs.5.00 crore is allocated under ‘Aam Admi Bima Yojana’ to provide life insurance cover for the landless agricultural labourers.
  • Rs. 4.00 crore has been provided in the budget under State Plan towards establishment of Xavier’s Institute of Management (XIMB) at Sambalpur and Bolangir. This will go a long way in providing quality management education to the students of the State.
  • Rs. 14.00 crore has been provided for infrastructure development of constituent colleges of BPUT. Besides, Rs. 12.56 crore has also been provided for infrastructure and civil works of IGIT, Sarang, Government Engineering Colleges at Berhampur and Bhawanipatna etc.
  • For up-gradation of industrial infrastructure of Plastic, Polymer and Allied Cluster at Balasore under IIUS, a provision of Rs.1.13 crore has been provided.
  • a new Planetarium will be established at Sambalpur for which allocation of Rs.5.00 crore has been provided.
  • Rs.12.00 crore has been provided in the budget for infrastructure development of IIIT, Bhubaneswar, which includes creation of Training Centre, Guest House, Research Laboratories & Staff Qrs.
  • Rs.80.00 crore has been provided for Western Odisha Development Council.
  • Rs.120.00 crore has been provided in the budget for continuance of Biju KBK Yojana for the development of most backward regions like KBK.
  • Rs.28.50 crore has been made for implementation of Biju Kandhamala O Gajapati Yojana.
  • Rs.540.00 crore has been provided in the budget for implementation of Integrated Action Plan in Tribal & Backward Districts.
  • Rs.5.00 crore has been provided for setting of Driving Training Institute at Berhampur, Barbil, Bhubaneswar, Keonjhar & Angul, which will train un-employed youth to earn their livelihood.
  • Rs.6.00 crore out of State Plan has been earmarked for development of air-strips and construction of a new Air- Strip at Malkangiri during the financial year 2012-13.
  • Rs.4.99 crore has been provide in the budget for completion of Hockey complex at Kalinga Stadium.
  • To cater to the training needs of the inmates of Sports Hostel at Panposh, Rourkela a second Synthetic Hockey Turf will be laid. Accordingly, a sum of Rs.6.00 crore has been provided in the Budget for 2012-13
  • Rs.16.25 crore has been provided in the budget for Preservation of Monuments and Buddhist Heritage as per the recommendation of 13th Finance Commission.
  • Rs.1.00 crore has been made for construction of Odishi Dance Museum in Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odishi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar
  • Rs.1.00 crore has been provided in the budget for construction of Modern Art Gallery in Bhubaneswar.
  • Rs.2.00 crore has been provided in the budget for construction of Boys & Girls Hostels for Utkal Sangeeta Mahavidyala and B.K. College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar.
  • Rs.9.00 crore has been provided in the budget for acquisition of private land for development of tourist projects like Peace Park at Dhauli and Peripheral Development of Lingaraj Temple.
  • Rs.13.50 crore has been provided in the budget in order to provide adequate basic amenities and other infrastructure in indentified tourist destinations.
  • Rs. 17.00 crore has been provided in the budget for organisation of International Events & Road shows/organisation of State and National Level Fairs and for publicity campaigns.

Odisha Expenditure budget for 2012-2013 at 37302.3 crores; 17.5% of it to go to mass education

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Following is from Samaja:

The music, dance and craft festivals in and around Bhubaneswar during Nov 2011 – Feb 2012

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Ekamra Utsav, Bhubaneswar, Festivals, Gotipua Festival, Kalinga Mahotsav, Dhauli, Konark Festival, Odisha govt. action, Raja Rani music festival Comments Off on The music, dance and craft festivals in and around Bhubaneswar during Nov 2011 – Feb 2012

Following is a list with some links. Please let me know if I am missing something.

  1. Gotipua Dance Festival, (15th-17th November 2011).
  2. Puri Beach Festival (23rd – 29th November 2011).
  3. Konark Festival (1st – 5th December 2011).
  4. International Sand art Festival (1st-5th December 2011).
  5. Dhauli Kalinga Mahotsav (10th – 14th December 2011).
    1. Dhauli Mahotsav (10th-12th December 2011)
    2. Kalinga Mahotsav (13th-14th December 2011)
  6. Shreekhetra Utsav, Puri  (14th-25th December 2011) ???
  7. Toshali National Crafts Mela (15th – 27th December 2011).
  8. Odissi International (18th-22nd December 2011).
  9. Eastern Jatra Festival (24th – 30th December).
  10. International Odissi Dance Festival (23rd-30th December 2011).
  11. Odissi Music Festival (8th – 10th January 2012).
  12. Ekamra – the Temple City Festival (10th-20th January 2012)
    1. Mukteswar Dance Festival (14th – 16th January 2012).
    2. Rajarani Music Festival (18th – 20th January 2012).
  13. Adivasi Mela (26th January – 5th February 2012).
  14. Kharavela Mahotsava (30th January – 5th February 2012).
  15. Konark dance and music festival (19-23rd February 2012).
  16. BYOF (Bring Your Own Film) -21st -25th February 2012.
  17. Drama Season in Bhubaneswar: February – April.
  18. Samrachana: Choreography Festival (1st March to 5th March 2012).

This year some of the festivals are new. They are: Gotipua festival, Sand art festival and the Odissi music festival. All of them are great additions. 

In the future years perhaps additional festivals that would include Pala/Daskathia, Sambalpuri music, Sambalpuri dance, Chhau dance, Ghumura etc. can be included. Chhau and Ghumura may be part of the adivasi mela, but giving them a solo dance or music platform (not part of a mela) would be great.

Odisha’s bicycle scheme for girls and the upcoming bicycle factory near Khurda

Khordha, Odisha govt. action 1 Comment »

Odisha’s growth will be steady; albeit slower than what some desire

EXPOSING ANTI-ODISHA-GROWTH SCHEMES, Odisha govt. action, Odisha govt. Inaction, POSCO, Universities: existing and upcoming, Vedanta 9 Comments »

In the recently held by-elections in Umerkote in Nabarangpur district the BJD candidate won handily. The winning candidate from BJD had 54,713 votes while the candidate from BJP had 33,652 votes and from Congress had 32,877 votes.

In the 2009 elections the numbers were: BJD candidate – 44326, BJP candidate – 30,155, Congress candidate – 25,512.

Although this is just a single point data, but based on such data, my informal survey of people, my observations, and some other reasons I give below I predict the following:

  • BJD will win the next assembly and parliament elections handily in Odisha and it may even have more parliament seats than it got in 2009.

I now give some reasons for my prediction.

  • In the 2009 election BJD jettisoned BJP at the last moment; so it was not as prepared in some of the constituencies which had BJP representatives.
  • For the same reason, during the 2009 elections, in many people’s mind BJD and BJP were aligned together, while Congress was the opposition. So with the vote split between BJD and BJP, Congress was able to sneak through in some places.  Good examples of this situation are the Balasore and Sundergarh parliamentary constituents. In both places the BJP had strong candidates (in Kharabela Swain and Jual Oram, respectively) and thus the anti-Congress votes got split resulting in Congress wins in both places. The situation will be different in the next election. In the next election the anti-government votes will get split between Congress and BJP and both will do worse than they did in the 2009 elections.

Now let me list some of the attributes of the BJD party and its government and some points regarding the situation in Odisha.

  • BJD’s supremo is a gentleman and closely guards his party members at all levels to follow some basic principles. There are aberrations, but he sorts them out expeditiously. Following is what I mean.
    • The state ministers have very little authority or power. That way they don’t have much of an opportunity to engage in corruption; they can not do any corruption on behalf of the MLAs; the MLAs themselves or party workers at lower level  can not indulge in any big corruption. So in general, there is no (or very little) visible corruption among BJD MLAs and ministers, especially towards personal gain. (Note: All parties in India get their party funds from various sources. There is some corruption involved in that.)
    • The state functions via the bureaucrats and the important departments are headed by bureaucrats that have more or less spotless reputations. So the corruption by higher bureaucracy is not there.
    • With a long running government BJD has a lot of party workers, but they are not like cadres of other parties. They are restrained from indulging in violence or similar activities that would antagonize the people. The BJD party and the Odisha government’s way of dealing with Kalinganagar and POSCO situation and its comparison with Singur is illuminating. In both Kalinganagar and POSCO, although the opposition parties have indulged in unlawful and sometimes violent methods, the BJD party has not countered with its cadres. The government has followed the strategy of wearing people out with time and leaving matters to law and order authorities but with strict instructions to be soft. Thus, even though some newspapers published by opposition parties have used the term "BJD goondas", the public does not have such a view of BJD having a goonda cadre.
  • BJD has given SOPs to the poor people (2 Kg rice), have indulged in populist people pleasing policies (bicycle for girls), and has sincerely helped people during calamities. So its popularity among common people is growing.
  • In essence, the government and the BJD party is not heavy handed and not arrogant and is perceived as people friendly. Ofcourse pockets of people are unhappy in places (e.g. Dhinikia) where promotion of industry clashes with people wanting to be left alone or people agitated by others; but by the government and its party not being heavy handed, arrogant or violent, such unhappyness is localized and as in Kalinganagar, it decreases with time. 
  • The *local* media–especially the top news papers–in Odisha keep a sharp eye on the government. They scrutinize every action and inaction of the government and are mostly critical of the government. They rarely praise any government initiatives. If one is not careful, one solely reading the local media may start having a distorted image of Odisha. But, although, I often feel bad by the negative portrayal of  many things in the local media I realize that in the big picture view, this is good for Odisha. It keeps the government on its toes, keeps it in check, and prevents it from being arrogant. Once one takes the perspective that the job of the opposition and the local medial is to "oppose", "criticize" and "scrutinize" every government actions, and they are able to do that well and freely, then it is easier to get a better picture. Reading some comparative articles in the national media, such as this, also helps.

So how does BJD winning another term after this term reflect on Odisha’s future.

  • It means that the current policies will continue and some of the big projects will happen. In particular, POSCO will go the Kalinagnagar way with the resistance slowly decreasing and development creeping in. Already a good chunk of the land has been acquired and basic efforts for construction (such as access roads) have started. The opposition can stop some of the land being acquired but they can not lawfully stop construction to happen in land that has already been acquired. They are trying, but I don’t see such unlawful efforts being sustainable. Similarly, if the Supreme Court gives ok to the Vedanta University land acquisition so far, then that will happen too. For both these big projects one can look back at Kalinganagar and Dhamara as models. In both Kalinagnagar and Dhamara, it took much longer than originally projected, but they happened. My prediction is same with respect to POSCO and Vedanta University.
  • Although by various measures (of investment) Odisha is among the leading states in the country there is the perception that things move very slow here. The perception is true, but perhaps moving slow is necessary. Running roughshod over the people backfires in many ways. Again, Singur, West Bengal is a good example of that. Also, Chandrababu Naidu’s fast moving steps did not help him win the next election. So Odisha will move forward in a slow and steady manner slowly modifying some of the people’s anti-industry attitude and taking them along.

The above are broad stroke observations. There would be exceptions at individual levels. Similarly, the predictions are based on assuming that no abnormal events happen; the future is unpredictable and small events can change everything.

Now what can Odisha and BJD do better.

  • Rope in good technocrats and have more people with decision making authority: I think BJD and Odisha would do better if BJD ropes in some good technocrats who have spotless reputations. There is so much one CM and a few trusted officers can do. The party needs to find a few more people within its ranks and increase its ranks with people it can trust (to be effective and not corrupt) and have more people with real decision making  authority.
  • Find ways to listen to local and regional voices: Currently, most in BJD are winning elections because of the party supremo’s image. Plus the tight control from above results in that they do not have much of a voice in government decisions. As a result they are not able to forcefully state regional aspirations and demands. This results in regional aspirations and demands being sidelined. For example, in this site we have highlighted many demands of Rourkela people. Because the local representatives (MLAs and one of them happen to be a minister) do not have much of a voice, for little things (like a new train) they have to hit the streets. This is not healthy and could ultimately result in BJD’s downfall and/or more vocal demands to split the state. If the MLAs and ministers can not be fully trusted and the trusted officers rule the roost in the government, may be a few more senior officers (besides the RDCs) can be each entrusted with a cluster of districts to look after. In particular, their job would be to bring to the higher level of the government demands and aspirations of people of those districts.

Odisha initiates plans for a Capital Area Development Region

Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Berhampur, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack- Kalinganagar, Bhubaneswar-Dhenkanal- Anugul, Bhubaneswar-Nayagarh, Bhubaneswar-Paradip, Bhubaneswar-Pipli- Astaranga, Bhubaneswar-Pipli- Konark, Bhubaneswar-Puri, Choudwar-Kendrapara - Dhamara, Cuttack, Cuttack, Cuttack-Paradip, Dhenkanal, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Jajpur Rd- Vyasanagar- Duburi- Kalinganagar, Kalinganagar - Panikoili - Jajpur - Kendrapara, Kalinganagar- Chandikhol- Paradip, Kendrapada, Khordha, Odisha govt. action, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Puri, Puri, Puri - Konark, URBAN DEV. & RENEWAL 1 Comment »

The above is a good idea.

 

  • A plan over a larger area will avoid congestion and slums that are typical of densly packed areas.
  • Another big benefit will be that the term "Capital Area" will make it easier for institutions, companies and other entities to come to the gretaer area rather than coming to "Bhubaneswar". For example, many institutions that are looking for land in Bhubaneswar are hesitant to locate in Kendrapada or Jagatsinghpur; even though the political leadership is very welcoming.  But once the term "Capital Area" encompasses Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur, these institutions will be less hesitant to come there.

So while the current Bhubaneswar and Cuttack planned areas will sever as the core urban area, the larger Capital Area development region will morph to a sub-urban area which down the road will touch the metropolitan areas around Angul in the west and Berhampur in the south.

We wrote about this in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3637.

A similar term needs to be coined for the greater Sambalpur-Jharsuguda-Rourkela area. See http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3660 , http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3672 and http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3668.

Perhaps it can be called the "Western Odisha Development Region".

Newspaper reports and pictures on the 2011 Gotipua festival

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Some tourism infrastructure involving Lingaraj temple and vicinity in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Circuit: Bhubaneswar-Chilika-Puri, Khordha, NURM, JNNURM, Odisha govt. action, Roads, highways and Bus stands, Telegraph, Temples Comments Off on Some tourism infrastructure involving Lingaraj temple and vicinity in Bhubaneswar

Following is from a report by Bibhuti Barik in Telegraph.

The state government is planning to build a new road from Lingaraj Temple to Kotiteertheswar Temple at a cost of around Rs 2 crore, to ease traffic pressure in the area. The 410-metre two-lane road will come with a three-acre parking area.

The project, which is to be taken up jointly by the tourism department and the roads and building division of the public works department (PWD), will also help provide a clearer view of the 11th century Lingaraj temple as shops and roadside vendors in front of the shrine will be relocated along the new road.

… the dilapidated Lingaraj Market Complex … will be demolished to clear the area for the laying of the road which will run along the Devi Padahara pond, behind Ananta Vasudev Temple and the farm lands on the side of natural drainage channel No. 7 near Kotiteertheswar Lane. The private land near the temple, which is owned by businessmen and the Lingaraj Temple Trust, will also be acquired to speed up the road project.

… “The state tourism department has already given Rs 30 lakh to the PWD and the rest — Rs 1.69 crore — will be provided by them from their plan budget. All the displaced traders and vendors will be rehabilitated.”

… the two-lane road would have facilities such as footpath and accompanying drains. However, the parking lot would be built by the tourism department, as it is not included in the road project.

The road would later be extended up to Taleswar Mahadev to improve the communication between Kedar Gouri and Lingaraj Temple.

Tourism department sources added that Old Town would soon have a mega tourist circuit, for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 8.14 crore. The proposed circuit envisages, among others things, renovation of two major roads, construction of a “parikrama” around Lingaraj Temple, soft lighting for eight protected monuments and two tourism interpretation centres.

While the tourism department is trying to revive Ekamreswar, the miniature temple of Lord Lingaraj near Lingaraj police station, a dedicated road corridor will be constructed to link Puri, Old Town and Khandagiri via Dhauli. An amphitheatre will also be built opposite Madhusudan Park at Pokhariput with a capacity to accommodate 3,000 people.

Multiple funding sources to help further develop various tourist attractions and infrastructure in the coastal areas

Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhadrakh, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Bhubaneswar-Pipli- Konark, Bhubaneswar-Puri, Business Standard, Central govt. schemes, Chandaka, Circuit: Bhubaneswar-Chilika-Puri, Dhamara- Chandbali- Bhitarakanika, Ganjam, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Heritage sites, Historical places, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Khordha, Konark, Lord Jagannath, Nandan Kanan, Odisha govt. action, Paradip - Jatadhari - Kujanga, Puri, Puri, Puri - Konark, Raghurajpur, Shamuka Beach project, Sites in and around Bhubaneswar, Telegraph, Temples, Tourist promotion Comments Off on Multiple funding sources to help further develop various tourist attractions and infrastructure in the coastal areas

Following is from a report in Telegraph.

The capital will soon have a mega-tourist circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 8.14 crore.

The proposed tourist circuit envisages, among others things, renovation of two major roads in Old Town area, construction of a ‘parikrama’ around Lingaraj temple, soft-lighting for eight protected monuments and two tourism interpretation centres.

While the tourism department is trying to revive Ekamreswar, the miniature temple of Lord Lingaraj near Lingaraj police station, a dedicated road corridor will be constructed to link Puri, the Old Town area and Khandagiri via Dhauli.

Moreover, a 3,000-seater amphitheatre will be constructed opposite Madhusudan Park at Pokhariput.

… Samal spoke to reporters after the heritage walk, which was held today as part of World Tourism Day function.

The circuit will aim at facilitating various cultures as the city is perhaps the only one place in the region where three major religions — Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism — have their presence and the Daya riverbed is linked to the transformation of Emperor Ashok from Chandashok to Dharmashok.

… While the mega circuit will be part of the development of the ambitious Bhubaneswar-Puri-Chilika tourism sector, the Old Town area of the city will have a 40-feet road near the temple connecting Kotitirtheswar Lane and a proposed three-acre parking site.

Later, the same road will be extended up to Kedar Gouri temple. These two roads, in turn, will provide a better corridor so that tourist vehicles can pass through the areas smoothly. Similarly, a ‘parikrama’ or circular road will be planned around the Lingaraj temple.

“Apart from providing better connectivity to the Old Town area, the side walls of various buildings and structures will be decorated with tiles of red laterite stones. The concept has already been adopted in various western cities and states such as Rajasthan. …

The mega circuit will also emphasise on infrastructure development to connect various sites of Buddhist and Jain religious interests. Other than central assistance, there is also a plan to develop a road connecting Gangua nullah (through its right embankment) to the historical Kapileswar village. Another road will link Ganesh Ghat near Dhauli Peace Pagoda with the Jatni Kapilaprasad Road.

According to the pre-feasibility report, the state government will spend more than Rs 30 crore on the two proposed roads.

“These two roads will connect Dhauli with Khandagiri and the travellers and tour operators need not take the longer Cuttack-Puri Road via Rasulgarh to reach the historical Jain sites. Even nature lovers visiting places such as Deras in Chandaka or Nandankanan Zoological Park can take this road in future,’’ said the MLA.

“The state government has also asked the Bhubaneswar Development Authority to construct an amphitheatre opposite Madhusudan Park in Pokhariput. This will resemble the amphitheatre at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya near Rabindra Mandap,’’ he said.

Sources at the public works department said: “There is a plan to construct a flyover over the railway level crossing at Pokhariput for Rs 42 crore. While the state government will share Rs 22 crore, the rest will come from the railways. Once the flyover is commissioned, the road from Dhauli to Khandagiri will become a vital link to various religious centre.’’

Under the mega tourism circuit, temples such as Lingaraj, Rajarani, Mukteswar, Rameswar, Parsurameswar, Lakshmaneswar, Bharateswar and Satrughneswar will be illuminated with light emitting diode based ‘dynamic lighting system’ for which Rs 3.98 crore will be utilised. The project will be executed by the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation.

Hinting at the development of two interpretation centres near the Lingaraj temple, Samal said: “While one will be constructed on the premises of Sibatirtha Mutt, the other one will come up near the employees’ colony.’’

On the proposed tourist interpretation centre near Khandagiri-Udaygiri caves, he said the project would be completed within two or three months time.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to promote heritage tourism at eight locations along the coast line with an investment of Rs 7.41 crore in the next five years.

Based on archeological, architectural, sculptural and historical importance, the selected structures, identified by the state archeology department, would be taken up under the World Bank funded Rs 227.64-crore Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project.

… The structures identified to get a face lift under the scheme included Potagarh (Buried Fort), located on the bank of river Rushikulya in Ganjam town which stands as a mute witness to the vicissitudes of history in Orissa.

Apart from historic Potagarh, the British Cemetery near Ganjam town, Bhaba Kundaleswar temple of Manikapatna, Baliharichandi temple near Puri, Hariharadeva temple, Nairi, Bateswara temple, Kantiagada (Ganjam), Jagannath temple, Pentha and Jamboo Colonial Building, Kendrapara will be refurbished under the scheme.

Preservation of ancient monuments under the project will include their protection, structural conservation, chemical conservation, landscaping and maintainance from time to time.

… The officials of the Gujarat and West Bengal projects along with a World Bank team visited various places including Ganjam and Kendrapada districts in the state recently to review the implementation of the project. Project Director of ICZM (Orissa) AK Pattnaik briefed the team about various steps taken under the project and their progress. The scheme, whose tenure spans from 2010 to 2015, is being implemented in two coastal stretches: Paradeep to Dhamara and Gopalpur to Chilika.

Plans for a port-based cluster of wood-based industries in Paradip

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Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The state government is planning to set up a port-based cluster of wood-based industries in Paradip on the Kandla model. The hub will manufacture wooden products with imported timber and market them within and outside the country.

“The entrepreneurs will set up their units with their own funds. We will facilitate the project by providing land and other infrastructure. The state run Industrial Development Corporation has earmarked 100 acres of land for the purpose,” said industries minister Raghunath Mohanty.

“The beauty of the project is that the wood-based units will use timber imported from South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies. The proposal is on the lines of Kandla project in Gujarat where several wood-based industries are operating. The entire raw material is imported from outside,” said forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

Foundation stone laid for TCS phase II expansion in Bhubaneswar which will add 3500 more seats; Odisha preparing industry-friendly ICT Policy-2011, IT Roadmap, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy and IT Hardware Policy

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Following is from a report in Pioneer.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday laid the foundation-stone of the second-phase expansion of the Global Software Development Centre of TCS here at Kalinga Park Phase II.  …. The State Government, along with the Central Government, is setting up of an IT investment region in the State where IT and electronics hardware industry is an important component, he informed.

Patnaik said that to achieve the objective, industry-friendly ICT Policy-2011, IT Roadmap, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy and IT Hardware Policy are being prepared to attract more IT industries to the State. The State’s IT export has crossed Rs 13,000 million during the year 2010-11 with direct employment of more than 10,000 persons.

… TCS Vice-President Projects B Sharma said that the second phase expansion is expected to be completed by March 2012, which would add 3,500 seats to the operation here. After the planned third phase, the total number of seats would be 11,000. The capital expenditure on different phases of expansion is estimated to be Rs 500 crore.

Odisha retaliates to DRDO insensitivity to Odisha’s development

Defence establishments, Odisha govt. action 10 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has made it clear to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Director General VK Saraswat that his Government would not allow use of the State’s coastline for carrying out seaward artillery practice and manoeuvres.

This is the State Government’s reaction to the objection raised by the DRDO to the setting up of three minor ports in Balasore. If the DRDO is not bothered about the State’s development, what is the point in giving permission to use its coastline, Patnaik reportedly told Saraswat when both met here on Thursday.

… The DRDO had been conducting field firing and artillery practice along the seacoast in the districts of Balasore and Bhadrak since long. The State Government was giving permission to the DRDO without any objections. This time, however, the State Government refused permission for the purpose, as a result of which no field firing and artillery practice has taken place since April, 2011.

… “Our appeal to the Centre seeking the DRDO’s no-objection for setting up ports not harming the DRDO activities remained unheard. Even they did not listen to our grievances. It was the only way out for the State not to renew the mandatory permission to the DRDO,” said a senior State official.

With the State Government hardening its stand, Dr Saraswat rushed to the State capital and met the Chief Minister. However, Patnaik, sources said, sounded a “big no” to the DRDO chief.

Besides working together on the port locations that suits both parties, Odisha should push the defense department/DRDO for other contributions such as a medical college and an institute like IIST (Indian Institute of Space Technology) Trivendrum.

Bhubaneswar Development Authority adds 351 more villages to its jurisdiction

Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Khordha, Odisha govt. action, Puri 2 Comments »

Update: The complete list of the 351 villages is given below.


The villages mentioned in the three articles below are:

North: Bada Tulsipur, Barabati, Bhagda, Chakradharpur, Paikasahi, Paikirapur, Ramdaspur, Sanatulsipur, Talbast

East: Aampada, Aradiapada, Danahara, Dorabhanga, Kulatira gaon, Mahidharapada, Majhihaar, Mukund, Saheb nagar, Taraboi.

South: Aanlajodi, Basantpur, Bijipur, Chhatrama, Mahatapalla, Mukundpur hata, Sonapada

West: Baudatangi, Baulapatna, Dadhimachhagadia, Kapileshwarpur, Pangarsingha, Somanathpur, Swapneswarpur, Talagada

NACs: Jatani, Khurda, Pipli.


Following are excerpts from a report in Telegraph.

Bhubaneswar Development Authority’s jurisdiction has increased from 419sqkm to almost 1,000sqkm with 351 more villages being brought under its fold.

At a decision taken on Saturday, places such as Pipili and Delanga will come under the jurisdiction of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA). With this, the total number of villages under the authority’s fold has gone up from 205 to 556.

… Therefore, they were struck off the list. The new additions will have 263 villages from Khurda and 88 from Puri district.

… Sources said earlier the developmental drive had been largely restricted to the Phulanakhara-Khurda stretch. However, with the expansion of the surrounding areas, the development zone would form a circle like structure.

While in north, it would include villages such as, Bhagda, Paikirapur, Barbati and Talabast, in south, it would have Chhatrama, Bijipur and Mukundpur.

Likewise in the east it would have Dorabanga, Danahara and Saheb Nagar while Dadhimachh Gadia, Somanathpur and Talagada in the west.

Planning member of the BDA Prashant Kumar Patnaik said: “Immediately we will go for a comprehensive development plan of the newly included area.

Following are from Sambada and Samaja:

Odisha government plans to turn its three medical college hospitals to super-speciality hospitals

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

The State Government on Tuesday announced creation of 669 new doctor and para-medical staff posts along with an addition of 869 beds in its three medical college and hospitals.

Four new departments have been notified for the SCB Medical, Cuttack, and two each for MKCG, Berhampur, and VSS, Burla.

The move marks the beginning of efforts by the Government to increase the MBBS seat strength in the three medical colleges from the present 150 to 250.

The process of assessing infrastructure, faculty and other capacities along with identifying the areas that need attention in the medicals so as to get the approval of the Medical Council of India (MCI) has started. A detailed proposal would be sent to the MCI soon, sources said.

Health Minister Prasanna Acharya on Tuesday said 478 beds would be added to 1,200-bed SCB along with 40 doctors and 126 para-medics, including nurses.

Four new departments in Transfusion Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Rheumatology and Hepatology have been announced.

Three professor, 11 associate professor and 34 senior resident posts have been created.

The MKCG would have 181 more beds with two new departments in Transfusion Medicine and Emergency Medicine.

The new posts include two professors, four associate professors, 12 assistant professors, 39 senior residents, 105 staff nurses, 10 nursing sisters, one assistant matron and 15 attendants.

The VSS has been infused with 210 new beds and two departments on Transfusion Medicine and Emergency Medicine. New posts include two professors, five associate professors, 22 assistant professors and 37 senior residents.

Full Text of Speech of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at Regional Consultations for Finalizing Approach to the Twelfth Five Year Plan at Patna on, 30th May, 2011

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(Thanks to http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=26974.)

Hon’ble Deputy Chairman, esteemed Members of the Planning Commission, Hon’ble Chief Ministers of the eastern region, senior officers of the Planning Commission and State Governments. 

2. Let me convey my appreciation to the Planning Commission for initiating the regional consultation process with State Governments and other stakeholders for finalizing the Approach to the 12th Five Year Plan.  The Planning Commission has identified twelve strategy challenges for the Twelfth Plan.  These strategy challenges need to be carefully analyzed at the State level.   While it may not be possible to discuss in detail all strategic issues, I would like to highlight a few major aspects concerning the development needs of States like Odisha. 

3. The first challenge of the 12th Plan is to enhance the economy’s capacity for growth and to mobilize adequate resources from various sources.  It may be worth mentioning that the economy of Odisha has historically grown and diversified at a very slow pace except in the last decade when it has achieved a real average growth rate of more than 9 percent per annum at 1999-2000 prices.  The per capita income of Odisha is much lower than the national average and the poverty and other human development indicators for the State are very adverse.  The State has a limited capacity to raise its own resources.  Though the State has been making all possible efforts to raise resources needed for public investment to maintain the growth momentum, there would still be a substantial gap between investible funds that can be mobilized by the State and the level of investment required.  To meet this gap, there has to be a national framework by which larger resources can flow to Odisha and similarly placed states.  Any national growth strategy has to give special attention to states having special development needs.  Odisha, with about 40 percent population of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, has a special need to accelerate their development and improve their human development indicators.     

4. Odisha favours a development approach that encourages less developed states to grow faster than the national average over a long period of time in order to bridge the widening income gap between poor and rich states and to reduce poverty at a faster pace.   The development approach should also focus on: (a) scaling up investments in agriculture and allied sectors that need to perform above the national average over a long period of time, (b) mitigating adverse impacts of natural calamities and other shocks including climate change, (c) accelerating the development of depressed regions and marginalized classes including Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes and women to substantially reduce regional, social and gender disparities and ensuring inclusive growth, (d) building and substantially improving rural and urban productive infrastructure such as roads, bridges, irrigation projects and ports, (e) strengthening social security system by way of allocating higher resources to primary education, health services and nutrition programmes, (f) addressing the problem of unemployment and under-employment, particularly among young persons and improving their employable skills, education and soft skills to harness opportunities that the growing economy may create, (g) improving the delivery of public services for the poor, (h) increasing convergence of resources from various sources and development programmes for faster poverty reduction and (i) continuing vigorously Public Sector Reforms Programmes, enabling policy framework and improving investment climate.      

5. In Odisha and other eastern states, large populations still live in villages and majority of them subsist on agriculture and allied sectors.   We, therefore, endorse the view of the Planning Commission that transforming rural areas and achieving high sustainable growth in agriculture and allied sectors is a crucial challenge for the 12th Plan.  There is an urgent need to take appropriate measures to raise productivity of the agriculture and allied sectors so that the income and employment opportunities in these sectors are enhanced in a sustained manner.  A vibrant rural economy is needed to ensure increased rural incomes and employment which would be a strong contributor for poverty reduction.  The strategy paper should focus on expansion of irrigation, watershed development and saturation of watersheds, diversification of crops, rural marketing, strengthening of agricultural extension and technology transfer, crop insurance and rural infrastructure.  The plan strategy should also look at ways in which farmers can get remunerative prices for their produce and ensure that the terms of trade do not move adversely against the farm sector.  Availability of credit is also critical for increasing farm output.  We, therefore, urge Government of India to put in place an appropriate macro policy framework to make the farm sector productive and profitable and to liberally fund development activities of agriculture and allied sectors, particularly in less developed states.  

6. Increasing irrigation potential and drought proofing are critical pre-requisites to enhance agricultural productivity.  In Odisha, substantial areas need to be brought under assured irrigation.  Out of about 59 lakh hectare irrigable area, we have been able to tap the potential only of about 30 lakh hectare by now.  We, therefore, urge that the funding under AIBP be stepped up adequately.  I would like to add that there is a need to extend AIBP funding to lift irrigation projects and innovative community based irrigation programmes such as our Biju Krushak Vikas Yojana (BKVY).  It is worth mentioning that the BKVY has been lauded and promoted by NABARD.

7. A major concern, however, is that though the share of agriculture and allied sectors has been declining in Gross State Domestic Product, the proportion of people dependent on agriculture and allied sectors has not been declining in the same proportion.  Major benefits of the economic growth, which has occurred mainly in the service and industrial sectors, flow largely to educated and skilled manpower.  There is, therefore, an urgent need to raise the skill levels of large sections of the population, particularly youth, so that they may find remunerative employment and livelihood opportunities.  A growth strategy that promotes desired skills and skill-based employment opportunities to youth and others has to be given prominence in the approach paper for the 12th Plan. 

8. Development of small scale industries in clusters, ancillarisation, linking industries to supply chains would have to be accorded due attention in the 12th plan strategy.  Employment potential, income generation and export potential of micro enterprises, handicrafts, handlooms and other traditional sectors have not been tapped fully.  Promotion of tourism and other service sector activities are to be given greater importance in the plan strategy.  The efforts of the States in these areas will have to be strengthened by appropriate resource flow and policy inputs by Government of India and this has to be emphasized.  

9. For Odisha and other mineral bearing states, mining and related industrial activities are very important.  Achieving strong growth in these sectors is critical in increasing incomes and poverty reduction.  However, these activities impose significant economic, environmental and social costs in terms of displacement of people on account of land acquisition, loss of their livelihoods and mounting pollution problems.  There is a need for a national policy framework to address these problems in an efficient, equitable and sustainable manner.

10. We have taken several initiatives including the single window clearance mechanism, transparent procedures and well thought out R&R policy, which have been put in place for facilitating setting up of industries.  As a result, there has been a surge in the private sector investments in mining and related industries. We would like to consolidate and strengthen this with due regard to sustainable development and environmental protection as a part of the growth strategy for next plan.  However, in order to attract private sector investment, there is immediate need for high levels of investment in infrastructure like roads, ports, railways, power generation and power transmission and distribution.  My state has already initiated PPP mechanism for infrastructure development in the field of port and road development.  But PPP alone cannot be the answer to infrastructure development in most eastern states including Odisha.  In fact, poor states like Odisha need greater investments in the non-PPP mode than more advanced states where returns on investment in infrastructure will be much higher.  Mobilizing adequate resources for high quality infrastructure in poor states is a greater challenge and the 12th Plan should have appropriate central schemes for liberal funding of infrastructure projects in poor states.

11. Macro policy distortions are proving to be a hindrance to Odisha and possibly other States, which are rich in minerals, in proper husbanding of those resources.  Royalty structures are such that the States are losing out substantially in resource generation potential due to very low royalty rates and delayed revisions of royalties on coal, iron and other minerals.  We urge the Government of India to revise the rates of royalty on coal and other minerals in a timely manner and to compensate the mineral bearing states for revenue losses sustained by them due to late revision of mineral royalties and other causes, as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission.  We reiterate our earlier demand for increasing mineral royalties on ad valorem basis from 10 percent to 20 percent of market prices of coal and other minerals.

12. With a view to contributing to the national efforts for augmenting power production, the State has planned production of 50,000 MW of power.  The establishment of new power plants, however, imposes significant economic, environmental and social costs on Odisha and other mineral bearing states in terms of displacement of people on account of land acquisition and loss of their livelihoods and mounting pollution problems.  Whereas power and coal consuming states benefit because of low costs of coal and power, revenues from electricity duty on consumption and revenue from sales of surplus power, the host states like Odisha bear most of economic, environmental and social costs.  This scenario leads to an inequitable sharing of costs and benefits from the coal mining and thermal power generation.  We have been repeatedly requesting the Government of India to put in place, by way of suitable amendments to the Electricity Act 2003 and the National Thermal Power Policy, appropriate institutional arrangements which would result in fair sharing of costs and benefits of coal mining and thermal power generation.  It is our long standing demand that the host states should get 25% free power from Independent Power Producers and 33% free power from coal reject based power plants on the lines of the National Hydro Power Policy.  We also urge  Government of India that the funds collected under the National Clean Energy Fund should be given back to the States from where coal has been mined to help them take up environment remediation measures.  

13. The 12th Plan should also focus on substantially improving human development indicators and stepping up investments in social sectors, particularly health, education, poverty eradication and other social safety nets.  There is also need to make adequate provisions for gender equality, child and women welfare and welfare of other disadvantaged sections.  Special efforts are needed to arrest fast declining sex ratio among children in 0-6 year age group and to improve the welfare of girl children. 

14. Correction of intra-state imbalances has been receiving special attention in the plan strategy of my State.  Heavy incidence and persistence of poverty in KBK region of the State has been a cause of concern for the State Government.  Though the region has improved through implementation of the Revised Long Term Action Plan, it still lags behind many other regions of the State.  In order to bring this region at par with other areas, the RLTAP has to be extended for at least ten years beyond the 11th Plan with increased funding.  We would also suggest that backward district initiative may be extended to more districts of my State which are equally backward.  

15. We have taken a number of steps to promote decentralized planning at district and sub-district level.  District Planning Committees have been constituted and are functional in all 30 districts in Odisha.  We have also constituted District Planning & Monitoring Units in all 30 districts to assist District Planning Committees for consolidating district plans and monitoring the implementation of various development programmes.  I may add that Odisha has been preparing annual district plans since 2008-09 in a consultative and participatory manner.  Summaries of district plans have been incorporated in the State Annual Plans since 2010-11.  Increasing efficiency and expenditure has been a thrust of our reform initiatives.  Outlays are being increasingly linked to outputs and outcomes both on Plan and Non-Plan side.

16. We support this consultative process for preparing the approach paper for the 12th Plan.  We may also like to add that a uniform policy and uniform programmes for the country as a whole have produced distorted growth, and created inequalities, within different parts of the country.  As a result, regional imbalances have cropped up.  The objective of the 12th Plan should be to correct these distortions by region-specific interventions.  I hope the regional consultations will prove the right beginning for such an approach for the 12th Plan.

17. Orissa should be declared a special category state.
  
Thanking you. 


I think it is time the tone of Odisha’s request change.  We should not ask to be declared a special category state.

We should forcefully demand that Odisha gets properly compensated for its minerals; years of neglect on some of its infrastructure aspects (such as railways) be corrected; environmental impact due to mining (especially coal mining) and power production be suitably addressed; the tribal areas (of Odisha as well as other states) be declared as special regions and special funding (to the tune of J & K and North East) be allocated to address them; and various central ministries must be ordered to treat each state fairly instead of channelling bulk of their funds to the states from where the ministers come from.

Odisha should cancel the lease of the mine owners who are giving wrong data to Indian Bureau of Mines causing great loss to Odisha; it should aslo sue them to recover the lost revenue

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Following is from Samaja.

Lessons that Odisha can learn from Punjab

Odisha govt. action 2 Comments »

Following are excerpts from an article in Wall Street Journal.

India’s northern state of Punjab was once a symbol of the nation’s economic progress, its advances in agriculture lauded worldwide as a spectacular feat that made India self-sufficient in food production.

But Punjab today faces a grave economic crisis, the result of years of shoddy governance that have stunted growth and created such a mound of public debt that the state is now seeking a multi-billion dollar bailout from the central government. It also is facing high unemployment, an anomaly in a nation that has the highest economic growth rate of any major nation after China.

Once India’s fastest growing state, Punjab is now one of its slowest, with about 6% economic expansion annually in recent years, compared with a national average of 8.5% and top-performing regions that are clocking 11% growth. With few good industry jobs being created, urban unemployment is a staggering 15.2%.

Many of the problems behind Punjab’s decline – an overreliance on agriculture, the under-development of manufacturing, lack of infrastructure development and overspending on populist welfare subsidies – are major issues for the government in New Delhi.

… Amid the turmoil in Punjab, the state’s ex-finance minister, Manpreet Singh Badal, has emerged as a leading advocate of reforms. …

Mr. Badal says Punjab needs to reduce spending on populist programs such as free power for farmers and cash handouts to lower caste women who get married; make long-term investments in education and infrastructure; and provide more incentives for industrial development.

"We have to think about not just the next general election, but the next generation," Mr. Badal said in a recent interview.

… With little spending restraint and paltry tax collections, Punjab has amassed $15.5 billion in debt. To pay annual debt servicing costs of about $1.8 billion, salaries for government workers and maintain all basic public services, the government is borrowing about $1 billion more per year, Mr. Badal says.

The debt crisis has been a humiliating blow to the proud Punjabi culture and economic history. Punjab’s agriculture sector in the late 1960s and 1970s was largely responsible for India achieving food security. Using new hybrid seeds imported from Mexico and taking advantage of extensive canal networks, farmers saw spectacular yields of wheat and rice. From 1966 to 1969, Punjab grew at an average of 8.4%, twice the national rate.

But by the 1990s, farmers’ yields had begun to stagnate. They began over-using fertilizers, which ultimately damaged the soil. …

Mr. Badal says there’s nothing wrong with agriculture but the state is too reliant on the sector, which makes up 30% of output but has grown only at an average of 3.1% a year for the past five years.

Successive governments since the mid-1990s have pursued populist policies that have left the exchequer in the red. The most sweeping move came in 1997 when the state gave free electricity to farmers to help cope with the costs of running water pumps. Mr. Badal estimates Punjab spends $1 billion per year on such subsidy programs.

… Though Punjab has small-scale industries that produce items like woolen garments, bicycle parts, and sporting goods, the state hasn’t attracted large-scale industrial investment – from foreign or domestic firms – and consequently has relatively few factories employing more than 15 or 20 workers, economists say.

Punjab’s infrastructure woes, including electricity demand that outstrips supply by 24% at peak usage hours, are one reason big manufacturers don’t want to set up shop.

Kaushik Basu, economic advisor to India’s finance ministry, says Punjab is still too focused on spurring growth in agriculture at the expense of other sectors. "It is tilting the incentives away from services and industry, which if it is unleashed, the growth potential of Punjab is huge," he said.

The above has a lot of lessons for Odisha in terms of what it should not do and what it should continue to do.

  • Odisha is a power surplus state and with many new power companies in the pipeline, it will continue to remain power surplus. It should tout this to get more diverse and employment-reach industries to Odisha. On the other hand it needs to address the environmental concerns and be smart in locating the power plants.
  • Odisha got out of negative budgets that depended on loans a few years back. It needs to keep a close eye on not getting into that situation again.
  • More …

Odisha’s plan outlay almost triples in four years; second best in the country after Haryana

Odisha govt. action, Planning Commission and Odisha 3 Comments »

Following is from a PIB report.

The size of the annual plan for 2011-12 for the State of Orissa was finalized here today at a meeting between the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia and the Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik. The State will have a plan size of Rs.15200 crores.

Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia complimented the State Government for the progress achieved in many areas. He said Odisha was figuring amongst the State doing well in poverty eradication and human development. Satisfactory progress has been recorded in social sectors including education and health.

Planning Commission appreciated the State Government for achieving a real average growth rate of 9.57 per cent during the first three years of the eleventh Plan. He said in the agriculture and allied sector growth rate of 4.8 per cent has been achieved during the same period. The State Government was advised to focus on making progress more inclusive and on reducing regional disparities. The State Government was also advised to better utilize science and technology in addressing the development related problems of the State. Attention was drawn to the condition of tribal and women and children in the State. It was pointed out that the State has done a good work in reforms and port sector was doing exceptionally well.

The Planning Commission has offered expertise in handling the problems which the State was facing following reforms in the power distributing sector. A team from the Commission will be visiting State with a purpose to find solution.

Mr. Naveen Patnaik said that the State has been assiduously pursuing the development agenda to achieve a sustainable and inclusive higher economic growth, accelerated overall development and a faster rate of poverty reduction. The development strategies include: strengthening human development sectors such as education, health services, food and nutritional security; improving welfare of marginalized groups such as Scheduled Castes. Scheduled Tribes and women; reducing regional, social and gender disparities; and scaling up investment in agriculture, allied sectors and infrastructure sectors.

He said removal of disparities is one of the important development strategies adopted by the Government. Several Key initiatives have been taken to address severe problems of underdevelopment and regional disparities. To expedite development of KBK districts an Eight Year Perspective Plan for KBK districts from the year 2009-10 to 2016-17 for a projected outlay of Rs.4,550 crore has been developed.

To get a better idea on how Odisha is doing, I created the following spreadsheet for the various states of India. State by state data is available at http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/stateplan/index.php?state=b_outbody.htm.


The spreadsheet shows how Odisha’s plan outlay has grown from 5100 crores for 2007-08 to 15200 crores for 2011-12. While we don’t yet have the plan outlays for all states for 2011-12, it is expected that the only state doing better than Odisha in terms of the growth in plan outlay is Haryana. Following are a few comparative observations from the spreadsheet.

  • For 2007-08 Odisha’s plan outlay was 5105 crores and Kerala’s was 6950 crores. This translated to Rs 1352 per person for Odisha and Rs 2144 for Kerala. For 2011-12 Odisha’s plan outlay is 15200 crores and Kerala’s is 11030 crores which translates to Rs 4025 per person for Odisha and Rs 3402 per person for Kerala.
  • For 2007-08 Punjab’s plan outlay was 5111 crores which translated to Rs 2032 per person. For 2011-12 Punjab’s plan outlay is 11520 crores which translates to Rs 4580 per person. Odisha seems to be fast catching up.
  • The 2011-12 numbers for Maharashtra is not out yet, but based on the 2010-11 numbers, Odisha is fast catching up with Maharashtra in terms of per person outlay.
  • The 2011-12 numbers for West Bengal is not out yet, but based on the 2010-11 numbers Odisha’s per person outlay may be close to twice the number for West Bengal.

The planning commission web site shows where the plan outlays are to be spent and most of the spending is more beneficial to the poor. This explains the popularity of the current BJD government among the people. But many do not see the forest for the tree and there are more brickbats than bouquets for the current Odisha governemnt  and bureaucrats.

Non-ideologues and open-minded people need to look at the above spreadsheet and make fair assessment of the government and need to stop following the communist leaders from Kerala and West Bengal who have demonstratably dragged down their state and their people. In that regard it is ridiculous that many leaders from Odisha invite communist leaders from these states to Odisha and give them a platform to talk about how Odisha should follow their negative path.

POSCO land acquisition compensation package; my concerns and suggestions

Jagatsinghpur, Odisha govt. action, Odisha govt. Inaction, POSCO, South Korea, Steel Comments Off on POSCO land acquisition compensation package; my concerns and suggestions

Following is from a report in Economic Times.

What’s in it for the locals?

Asit Swain, who lives in Nawagaam, one of the affected panchayats, told ET that the compensation package has been finalised. Farmers will get Rs 11,500 for every decimal (one-tenth of an acre) of betel vine plantations and Rs 18 lakh for every acre where two crops can be grown in a year.

Those growing cashew or farming prawns on government land (without land titles) will get Rs 2 lakh per acre. As for the landless,they will get Rs 2,250 per month till they find employment. They will also get a sum, added Swain, equal to a fifth of what the betel vine cultivators and farmers get.

In addition, two months ago, Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa (Ipicol) recommended a new clause be added to the MoU stipulating that 90% of the unskilled and semiskilled workers, 60% of the skilled workers and 30% of the managerial posts in the project be hired from the local community.

What’s in it for Posco?

Clearly, the project continues to be hugely lucrative for Posco, which is why the company is staying on despite all these delays. The company will get a guaranteed supply of iron ore for at least 30 years, a commodity, whose prices have soared 43% since the beginning of last year.

From recent news that are coming out (see for example,  http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/anti-posco-brigade-hit-hard-by-defectionvillagers/434888/ ) it seems like the POSCO project will now sail through.

With that assumption, I suggest that the government take better care of the people that are being displaced and keeps it focus on the "From mineral resources to Human resources" theme.

To take better care of the displaced people:

(a) the government must have a mechanism to ensure that the compensation paid to the people is not blown away in a year or 2 and the displaced people have nothing to fall back on. Some approaches such as annuity payments for part of the compensation and making the people a shareholder of the plant with specialized shares, which can not be sold immediately, need to be considered. In addition the R & R must include the education of all kids (of displaced people) in decent schools (DAV type), similar to what Vedanta University Project was/is(?) doing in Puri.

To address the "mineral resources to Human resources" goal:

(b) the government must insist that POSCO establish in Odisha a significant branch (or a similar institute) of its top ranked (in research) university POSTECH of S. Korea. This is the least they can and should do for being assured of raw minerals at a low low price.

(c) the government must insist that POSCO establish more of its ancillaries in Odisha itself rather than in other states.

Srikant Jena’s letter to Naveen Patnaik asking the state to take over the mines instead of leasing them; Is Jena sincere or is it just a political ploy

MINES and MINERALS, Odisha govt. action, Odisha govt. Inaction 1 Comment »

Following is the letter.

I have several questions and doubts:

  • Is it possible under the central govt. policies on mines that the state can take over the mines?
  • What about the mines for which lease have been already granted? For example, the various leases that Tata Steel has? Can the state just unilaterally terminate the leases and take over the mines. I don’t think so. See http://mines.nic.in/faq.html.

I think Mr. Jena, if he is really sincere, should elaborate on how the state can take over the mines. Otherwise, he is just playing politics.

Odisha state department heads to be held responsible for delay in pension; if delayed, interest of 18 % will be paid and recovered from their salary

Odisha govt. action 1 Comment »

Following is from a report in Orissadairy.

The Government employees will be provided with pension on the very day of retirement. The Department heads are empowered to arrange provisional pension on the very day of their retirement.

The Chief Secretary Bijaya Kumar Patnaik told the media persons here that if any departmental will delay the provisional pension, the department heads will be held responsible. The concerned employee will be paid with interest of 18 % and that will be recovered from the salary of  the department head.

Lets watch and see if this is implemented as stated.