___________

(Thanks to Future Berhampur for the link.)

This is an welcome news. My guess is that if proper efforts are made then the situation with respect to air connectivity in Odisha could be as follows:

• Bhubaneswar airport would have a few international flights, better connectivity to big cities across India and small planes flying to nearby smaller airports.
• Jharsuguda airport would have flights to several cities in India.
• Airports in Rourkela, Berhampur, Jeypore and Rasgovindpur would have small planes (20-40 seaters) flying mainly to nearby larger airports.
• The locations mentioned above matches with the Tier 1 and 2 areas mentioned in the orissa2020 site.
• In the next tier will be airports at Angul, Therubali, Utkela (Kalahandi) and others. (See the list of airstrips in Odisha here.) I think because of the industries Angul and Therubali will be the leading contenders.

Following is an excerpt from a report by Dilip Satpathy in Business Standard.

… Tata Steel has finally geared up to put to use its 3,200 acres of land lying idle at Gopalpur in Orissa. Playing the role of the anchor tenant for an industrial park proposed to come up on this patch of land, the company is all set to launch two projects: a 50,000 tonne per annum ferroalloys plant and 40,000 tonne per annum bar mill there.

The two projects together are estimated to cost about 1000 crore.

… "To start with, the proposed two units, the ferroalloys plant and the bar mill, will be our anchor investment. But our ultimate objective is to make this industrial park attractive for investors in the field of steel and steel downstream, speciality and bulk chemicals and engineering", said a senior official of the company.

While the ferroalloys plant will cost about Rs 200 to 250 crore, the bar mill will be set up at an investment of Rs 750 to Rs 800 crore. This will be the third ferroalloys plant of Tata Steel in Orissa. The company is operating two ferroalloys plants at Bamanipal and Athgarh (through its subsidiary Rawmet) with capacities of 50,000 tonnes per annum each.

For the bar mill, the company intends to get the ingots from Jamshedpur by rail and road. Similarly, the company will source raw material for the ferroalloys plant, which will be a backward integration project for the company’s proposed six million tonne plant at Kalinganagar, from its chromite mines in Sukinda valley. Both the units are expected to be commissioned in 30 months time.

It may be noted Tata Steel had acquired 3,700 acres (including 500 acres for the rehabilitation colony) in mid 1990s for setting up of a 10 million tonne steel plant at Gopalpur. However, it shelved the project and the land was lying vacant.

… The infrastructure for the industrial park will jointly be developed by Tata Steel and its associate company, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL). A feasibility study on the complex has been done by Ernst and Young while another internationally famed consultant, Jurong of Singapore is currently preparing its master plan. The master plan will be ready in 3 to 4 months following which the company will market the project and attract investors to set up their units in the park, said the sources.

The cost of infrastructure, which includes developing the land and providing road, rail, power, water supply facilities within the park and linking them to external sources, is estimated at about Rs 5000 crore.

This is really great for the Berhampur area. With a fabulous beach and port next door in Gopalplur, good road and rail connectivity, decent infrastructure (a university, a government engineering college, a medical college, several private engineering colleges), nearby tourist spots (such as Chilika lake), and a multi-cultural and multi-lingual population Berhampur is ready for prime time. It just needs to be marketed at a national level.

Moreover, its proximity to the Bhubaneswar area is a big plus. From Khurda Rd (the current southern edge of the greater Bhubaneswar area) it is only 147 kms. Being connected to Bhubaneswar by one leg of the Golden Quadrilateral, one can drive between the two areas in less than 2 hours. So even if it does not yet have air connectivity, its closeness to Bhubaneswar airport will come in handy.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

A ginning and bale processing unit of cotton will be established in the cooperative sector at Digapahandi in south Orissa’s Ganjam district at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore.

This was announced by the officials of the Regulated Market Committee (RMC) while the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the market yard at Digapahandi for the cotton farmers.

The market yard spread over 6.15 hectares (15.19 acres) of land, is being established under the Technology Mission for Cotton (TMC) under the Union ministry of textiles.

Around Rs 3 lakh is being spent on the development of the market yard. While the TMC had sanctioned Rs 1.50 lakh, the remaining amount would be met from the Rashtriya Krushi Vikash Yojana (RKVY) and RMC.

… The market yard has all infrastructure facilities including two godowns, each with a capacity of 500 tonnes, as well as cover shed, testing and training facilities for the farmers.

(Thanks to Future Berhampur for the pointer.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… The SEZ will come up on 3585 acres of land acquired by Tata Steel. The company had acquired the land in mid 90s for setting up a steel plant. But with the project being shelved later, it had decided to use the land for setting up of a SEZ.

“Tata Steel has kicked off work on boundary wall construction and land leveling work in the first phase. The company has engaged 400 labourers for the SEZ work”, industries minister Raghunath Mohanty said in a written reply in the state legislative assembly.

About four km of boundary wall has been constructed and the work on remaining six km of boundary wall is underway.

“The company has taken possession of 2792.65 acres of private land and 792.64 acres of government land for the SEZ. It expects to complete boundary wall construction and land leveling work on the Gopalpur SEZ project by December 2010”, the minister added.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has allotted 110 acres of land to 55 industrial units for the proposed food processing park project being developed at Malipada in Khurda district.

“The food processing park would be developed on 162 acres of land. The state government has already allotted 110 acres to 55 units. It will invest Rs 9.9 crore on infrastructure development for this food park and out of this Rs 1.91 crore has already been deposited with the Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco)”, said state industries minister Raghunath Mohanty.

Besides the food processing park, the state also planned to develop a mega food park at Khurda and the proposal is under the consideration of the Government of India, the minister stated.

The mega food park project, which is to be developed on around 200 acres of land, has the potential to attract investments to the tune of Rs 2000 crore. …

The government had roped in IL&FS as a consultant to help boost investments in the food processing sector. Tenders for this project were likely to be invited by August this year. …

Pointers to previous posts on this:

• June 16 2010: More details on the role of IL&FS.
• Foodpark to come up in Malipada (Khurda) and Diagapahandi (Ganjam).

Update: Following is excerpted from a report inTelegraph.

… Official sources said surveying the land for the project has already been completed. The legal and statutory requirements have been submitted to the appropriate authority for clearance.

… As per the proposal, the company would invest Rs 150 crore for land acquisition and connectivity, Rs 100 crore for energy academy, Rs 2,700 crore for power plant, Rs 1,000 crore for creating marine facilit. While Rs 400 crore would be invested for desalination plant and another Rs 500 crore would be towards township and office complex.

…Officials pointed out that oil and gas-based industries, which have shown interest in the hub are Alph Tech International Inc., Downstream Services, USA, Richemen Petroleum-Export Oriented Refinery, Dubai, SBM Offshore –FPSO Services, USA, ULO Systems LIC, Subsea Pipelines, Switerzerland and Dubai, Hyundai Offshore, South Korea.

The non-oil and gas-based industries which has evinced interest in the hub are Seacor Marine Inc, USA, Faros Investment Partners, UP, Wind Turbines and Blades, Aerostar, USA, Matrix Global LIC, USA and Virtue Group, USA.

Following is from an UNI report in newkerala.

The proposal was submitted to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik by Mr S K Chalamsethy, Director Sonepur Energy and Oil City Private Limited set up by the consortium, sources said today.

The company, official sources said, had proposed to set up an Energy Academy for the development of technical knowhow in the energy and oil sectors and create necessary infrastructure for port, power, desalination plant, fabrication and township.

While the Consortium would invest Rs 5,000 crore, other industrial houses would invest nearly Rs 10,000 crore. The projects, when completed, would provide direct employment to 20,000 people and indirect employment to one lakh.

The Energy Academy would impart training to engineer, geologist, geophysicist, drilling engineer, fabricators besides other technical persons in close association with the international oil companies.

The company, sources said, would invest Rs 100 crore on the academy which would encourage small business men in the Oil sector.

In the proposed Oil city, a port, a ship manufacturing unit, 1000 MW gas based power plant and 120 MLD Desalination Plant, besides a modern city for a population of 10,000, would be established. This apart, infrastructure for setting up of Petrochemical complex and Oil storage would be created in the city.

Official sources said the Southern Orissa, being located on the Krishna-Godabari and Mahanadi basin, has the potential for investment in the oil and gas sectors and Orissa would emerge as a major Hydrocarbon Hub in the entire South East Asia.

In a report in Orissadiary, the group is named as Greenco. I could find a website for Greenko which has a director named Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty. This financial express interview is with him. Greenko stock listing info is here.

Note that Sonepur in Ganjam is next to the Bahuda Muhana. See

• Map: Orissa ports (large map)
• Map: Orissa ports (small map)

In 2008 the Odisha government had proposed Bahuda Muhana as one of the sites in response to a GOI call for a PPP based shipyard. So the above mention plan for a shipyard fits in nicely; or it may mean good homework done by the group in making the overall proposal.

However, Odisha government needs to be careful about grandiose proposals from newcomers, as it may be a land grab plan in disguise.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Topping the lists of the prospective investors is Gokul Agrawal of CTC Education Pvt Ltd who intends to invest Rs 6000 crore over five years in developing a 1000-acre knowledge city.

In the higher education sector, Silicon University of the Silicon Valley Group has proposed to set up its campus in the state at a cost of Rs 300 crore. Investments would also be pouring in for the state’s hospitality sector with the US-based Best Western Hotel lining up a Rs 100-crore investment plan for setting up a chain of properties at Bhubaneswar, Paradip, Chilka and Jharsuguda.

Land could become an issue with respect to the proposed knowledge city. A city/town/community that may want such a knowledge city which, I am told, would include multiple universities could offer help in the land part. They should of course first investigate if the group really has that much money and if their plan is for real.

Thanks to Sunil Sabat for the photograph.

In 20 years (i.e., in 2030) the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda population would be around 4 million plus. In addition the area would be surrounded by the following cities/towns within 150 kms radius (i.e., about a hour and half away).

• Berhampur-Gopalpur to the south (with a then population of 1.5 million; about 145 kms away)
• Puri to the south (with a then population of 700K; only 30kms away)
• Kalinganagar to the North (with a then population of 500K; only 50 kms away)
• Talcher-Angul to the West (with a then population of 500K; only 110 kms away)
• Dhenkanal to the west (with a then population of 200K and almost in the periphery)
• Paradip to the east (with a then population of 400K and 90 kms away)
• Dhamara-Chandbali to the Northeast (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)
• Bhadrak to the North (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)

A little farther is

• Balasore-Chandipur to the North (with a then population of 300K and 162 kms away from the Northern end of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda area)

In addition there will be several port towns other than the ones mentioned above and a few smaller towns (For example, Nayagarh)  within 200km radius of greater Bhubaneswar.

Besides individual CDPs for these areas the Odisha governement should start making plans for this larger overall area. It would form a different kind of megalopolis than New Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata with a well planned hub (Bhubaneswar) surrounded by mini-hubs and with rural areas in between. I can not off-hand think of another such area in the world; may be the readers can point me to some. Please suggest what kind of plans need to be made. (Please note that for something to be up and running in 20 years, plans need to be made now.) For example:

• Commuter trains at frequent intervals and the necessary infrastructure for that. Following are some of the segments
  • Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark-Astaranga (Puri-Konark-Astaranga needs to be built; alternatively if Astaranga port comes up, then there may be a new line from Barang to Astaranga)
  • Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Gopalpur (Berhampur-Gopalpur needs to be built)
  • Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Dhamara (Bhadrak-Dhamara is ready but no trains yet)
  • Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Balasore-Baripada
  • Bhubaneswar-Jakhapura(Kalinganagar)-Tomka (on the line to Kendujhargarh)
  • Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Paradeep (ready)
  • Bhubaneswar-Dhenkanal-Talcher-Angul (ready)
  • Bhubaneswar-Khurda-Nayagarh and beyond (being constructed; part of Khurda-Balangir)
  • Angul-Talcher-Sukinda-Kalinganagar (being constructed)
• Expressways linking these places
• Fast buses linking these places
• Fast airport shuttle
• Some of these places would be connected by waterways including National Waterway 5
• Express ring road around each of these places
• Co-ordinated public transport in each of these places
• ??

Please let your imagination run wild!

Update: Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

Astha International Limited, one of India’s leading direct selling companies based out of Surat (Gujarat), would invest Rs 5000 crore on a slew of business ventures in Orissa by the end of 2012.

The investment which is to be raised through a mix of debt and internal accruals as well as from its 4.5 lakh odd distributors across the country, will be made on developing an integrated township project called ‘Astha City’ near Berhampur, a star hotel in Puri and a textile mill in Bhubaneswar.

Besides, Astha International would set up a dairy production unit, a multiplex and a hyper mall in the city.

The company has opened an office in the city and this would serve as the zonal office for the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

Together, all these projects will generate direct employment for over 10,000 people in the state.

All these projects are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2012.

"… The company would first begin with the integrated township project for which it has already identified around 200 acres of land near Berhampur.”

The company is betting big on the Orissa market which currently accounts for about 50 per cent of its overall revenues.

Astha International which has operations in 12 states of the country, clocked a revenue of Rs 300 crore in the last fiscal.

Out of 4.5 lakh distributors of the company, 1.5 lakh are based out of Orissa.

Astha International, which has more than 10,000 products in 26 different segments, also plans to float a bank called Astha Bank by 2011-12.

“We have already got the license of the Reserve Bank of India for starting banking operations and our bank will commence operations from 2011-12”, Chauhan claimed.

The website of this company is http://www.asthainternational.in/. In that site they mention an Astha city in Gujarat. Following is from Samaja.

Following is from a report by Bishnu Das in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has approved nine more solar power projects with an aggregate generation capacity of 57 Mw.

The State Technical Committee (STC), headed by the secretary in the science and technology department, cleared these projects recently.

With this, the total envisaged solar power capacity in the state has gone up to 351 Mw from 294 Mw earlier.

Projects with an aggregate generation capacity of 45 Mw were approved under the Bundling Scheme for Solar Power Plants of the Union ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE). Similarly projects of 12 Mws were approved under the Generation Based Incentive Scheme for Roof Top and Small Solar Generation of the Central sector utility major, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).

The projects approved under the Bundling scheme included Skygen Infrabuild (P) Ltd (5 Mw), Rajratna Energy Holdings (10 Mw), MGM Minerals (5 Mw), Konark Kranti Energy (P) Ltd (5 Mw) and Sunark Solar (P) Ltd (20 Mw).

Skygen Infrabuild plans to set up a 5 Mw solar power project in Khurda district. Similarly, Rajratna Energy Holdings is interested to set up 10 Mw solar power plant in Dhenkanal district.

While the solar plants of MGM Minerals and Sunark Solar would come up in Khurda district, Konark Kranti Energy proposes to locate its unit Dhenkanal district.

On the other hand, four projects cleared under the Roof Top and Small Solar Generation scheme of NTPC included 3 Mw plant of Sunark Solar (Khurda district), 3 Mw project of Abacus Holdings (Ganjam district), 3 Mw project of Orion Solar Projects (Cuttack district) and 3 Mw plant of Skygen Infrabuild (Khurda district).

Following is an excerpt from a report in project finance international.

Gopalpur Port project has raised Rs12.12bn loan to fund the construction of a deep sea port located in Orissa, on the east coast of the country. Sponsors are Sara International and Orissa Stevedores which hold 50% share each. Signing was held on April 28 among 11 domestic bank lenders. MLA was SBI Capital.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard. (Thanks to Future Berhampur for the pointer.)

… Though Tata Steel’s SEZ project was cleared by the Board of Approvals (BoA) under the Union commerce ministry, it is yet to be notified due to problems in possession of land.

“The land possession problems in Chamakahandi and Basanaputi villages will be sorted out very soon. Company authorities have agreed to undertake a fresh survey on the lands being left out in these villages, for the payment of compensation and taking physical possession”, said an official of Tata Steel.

Tata Steel had initially planned for establishment of a shore-based mega steel plant near Gopalpur and applied for about 3,700 acres of land . …

Meanwhile, the company expects to take physical possession of land for the Gopalpur SEZ very soon. “We have already deposited the amount for the land acquisition and hope to get physical possession very soon for construction of the boundary walls”, said S S Routray, senior manager (administration), Gopalpur SEZ project ofTata Steel.

A tripartite meeting was held between the villagers, company officials and the district administration for physical acquisition of around 51.502 acres of land in Chamakhandi village and around 25 acres in Basanaputi village.

This meeting had a very positive response, said Routray.

… Tata Steel, on the other hand intends to withdraw from the 206.685 acres of land at Kalipalli village and 691 acres of land at Paikapada. According to official sources, though the land at Paikapada was acquired, it was not handed over to the company.

Once the implementation of the SEZ project starts, Tata Steel will have 2792.659 acres in nine villages including Chamakhandi and Basanaputi villages in its possession, sources said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard by Bishnu Das.

To meet the infrastructure needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on a priority basis, the Orissa government has reserved 20 per cent of the area in all industrial estates, industrial parks, industrial corridors and land banks for such units.

Further, the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) will promote new exclusive zones for MSMEs in all major industrial hubs of the state.

The locations where exclusive industrial parks will be promoted include Kalinganagar, Barbil, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Baragarh, Balasore, Dhamara, Gopalpur, Chhatrapur, Raygada, Kalahandi and Choudwar.

Such exclusive zones will also come up near the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state.

… The government has also decided that wherever land is provided to large and medium industries, 10 per cent of the land, subject to a maximum limit of 200 acres, will be earmarked for setting up MSMEs. This will facilitate the setting up of ancillary and downstream units, preferably in cluster mode, a source added.

… Sources said that Common Facility Centres (CFCs), to be set up by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituted for the MSME clusters, would be entitled for allotment of land free of cost at various locations in the state.

… To provide assured sources of raw material for such units, the Orissa Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will set up raw material banks.

The two organisations will act as nodal agencies for MSMEs and public sector resource companies will accord priority to OSIC and NSIC in supply of raw materials, which will be made available to MSMEs at the lowest possible rate.

1. Economic Times on 3 more terminal markets in Odisha:

Orissa government will provide four terminal market yards to enable the farmers to sell their produce at market prices…. One of the terminal has already been constructed at Sambalpur with an investment

of Rs 86 crore and three others are coming up at Cuttack, Berhampur and Rourkela,…

2. Business Standrad on MOU with five IPPs for 4800 MW power:

The cumulative capacity of these projects would be 4800 Mw and the total investment is envisaged to be Rs 23203.52 crore.

With this, the total power generation projected in the state would increase to 31100 Mw from 26300 Mw earlier.The Orissa government has already inked MoUs with 21 IPPs with an aggregate generation capacity of 26,300 Mw earlier.

… Five companies who signed the MoU included BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd, Maa Durga Thermal Power Company Ltd and Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd.

JR Powergen Private Ltd would set up a 1980 Mw thermal power plant at Kishorenagar near Angul at an investment of Rs 7988 crore. BGR Energy Systems Ltd also plans to set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Bhapur in Nayagarh district at an investment of Rs 6287 crore.

Similarly, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Birmaharajpur in Sonepur district entailing an investment of Rs 8079.74 crore. All these proposals were cleared by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

On the other hand, Maa Durga Thermal Power would set up a 60 Mw ((2x30Mw) power plant at Tangi in Cuttack district, involving an investment of Rs 296.95 crore. Besides, Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd, planning to set up a 120 Mw power plant (IPP) at an investment of Rs 550 crore at Kesinga (Turla Khamar) in Kalahandi district.

The total land requirement for these projects have been assessed at 4360 acres and about 22,325 direct and indirect employment opportunities are expected to be created when these projects would be fully commissioned. Three projects namely BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would source water from the Mahanadi river system, Maa Durga Thermal Power would draw water from Birupa river.Vijaya Ferro and Power plans to source water from Tel river.

3. Hindu on preliminary bids for UMPP at Bedabahal:

the government was likely to invite preliminary bids for the 4,000-MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Bedabahal in Orissa by April 30.

The request for qualification (RSQ) for the project may be issued by April 30.

This Bedabahal project would be the sixth UMPP project. The government has already awarded four UMPPs, of which three — Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand — have been bagged by Reliance Power.

4. Sify on 595 crores for waterbody upgrade:

As many as 1817 water bodies, mostly the minor irrigation projects (MIPs) in 20 districts of Orissa, would be revitalized under the Centrally sponsored scheme of Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies.

These water bodies would be revitalized within a period of three years at an estimated cost of Rs 595.14 crore.

The funding for these projects would be shared between the Government of India and the Orissa government in the ratio of 90:10 for the Maoist infested, drought prone and backward districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK).

For the other districts, the share between the Centre and the state government will be 25 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

While the design ayacut of all 1817 projects was 2, 48,545.86 hectares, the irrigation potential of an additional 89,110.02 hectares of land would be revived through these projects, sources said.

Most of these projects under the RRR scheme are being taken up in south Orissa’s Ganjam district. About 800 projects under the scheme are to be taken up in the district at a cost of Rs 250.87 crore.

… Apart from Ganjam and KBK, the other districts where the scheme will be implemented are Bargarh, Bolangir, Gajapati, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Mayurbhanaj, Nabarangapur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Balasore, Malkanagiri, Subarnapur, Deogarh and Dhenkanal.

The pilot project for this scheme was implemented for 137 projects in Ganjam and Gajapati districts at a cost of Rs 18.84 crore during 2005-06 to 2008-09.

5. Hindu on Japan giving 150 crores for an irrigation project:

Japan will also give … over Rs 150 crore for Rengali irrigation project in Orissa.

6. Hospitalitbizindia on a mega food park at Malipada, Khurda:

Government of India is likely to set up a mega food park and a marine food park at Malipara near Khurda in Orissa with an area of 282 acres. This information was given by Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Food Processing while responding to a demand raised by Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa at the Orissa Investors meet 2010.

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59882. The Odisha part and some other important parts are highlighted in red by me.

CCEA Decision

            The CCEA today approved a Rs.1156 crore World Bank assisted Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Project.  This project is to be implemented over the next five years by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The World Bank’s contribution as soft loan/IDA credit is around         Rs. 897 crore (78%).  This ICZM project assumes special significance in the context of climate change since one of the definitive findings of the IPCC relates to the increase in mean sea levels as a result of global warming.

            The ICZM project has four main components:

1.       National ICZM capacity-building at a total investment of about Rs.356 crore which will cover (i) mapping, delineation and demarcation of the hazard lines and delineation of the coastal sediment cells along the mainland coast of India; (ii) mapping, delineation and demarcation of environmentally-sensitive areas that require protection; (iii) establishment of a National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management at Anna University, Chennai; and (iv) a nation-wide training programme for coastal zone management.

2.       ICZM activities along the Gulf of Kachchh and in Jamnagar District in Gujarat at a total investment of around Rs.298 crore.

3.       ICZM and wetland conservation activities in two stretches of the Orissa coast (i) Gopalpur-Chilika; and (ii) Paradip-Dhamra at a total investment of Rs.201 crore.

4.       ICZM activities in Sunderban, Haldia and Digha-Shankarpur regions of West Bengal at a total investment of Rs.300 crore.

The project would develop capacity and institutions to effectively implement the CRZ Notification 1991, to control pollution of coastal waters and to expand livelihood options for coastal communities. The elaborate and extensive exercise in hazard mapping along the 7500-km coastline, which is being done for the first time, by the Survey of India at cost of Rs.125 crore will greatly assist in protecting coastal communities and infrastructure located in coastal areas.

The total number of direct beneficiaries of the project is close to 15 lakhs, while the number of indirect but identifiable beneficiaries will be close to 6 crore. The initial set of three states have been selected on various grounds including pressure on coast, presence of critical ecosystems, risks of natural hazards, etc. The Asian Development Bank is supporting a less comprehensive shoreline management project in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa. It is envisaged that the second phase of ICZM would take up the other coastal states with project preparation in all remaining coastal states commencing immediately.

Of special focus in the project will be identification and demarcation of coastal fragile areas like mangroves, brackish water wetlands, coral reefs, etc based on which a new category of “Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas”(CVCAs) would be designated and appropriate management plans implemented for their preservation and regeneration. These would include areas around Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Khambat in Gujarat, Malvan, Vasasi-Manori,Achra-Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, Karwar and Coondapur in Karnataka, Vembanad in Kerala, Bhaitarkanika and Chilika in Orissa, Coringa, East Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh,Sunderban in West Bengal, Pichawaram and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu etc.

This is the second World Bank assisted project of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to be approved by the CCEA in the past two weeks. The first was a Rs. 350 crore project for initiating the process of remediation, rehabilitation and restoration of contaminated hazardous waste/municipal solid waste dumpsites in the country. There are over 120 such sites in different states and this project would be launched to clean-up 2 sites in Andhra Pradesh and 8 in West Bengal to begin with, apart from to prepare a national plan for remediation and restoration of all legacy contaminated sites which have become public health hazards.

*********

AD/LV

(Thanks to futureberhampur for the pointer.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard by Hrushikesh Mohanty.

Japanese auto major Toyota Motor Corporation has evinced interest in setting up a processing plant for rare earth chloride, one of the intermediate products of monazite.

The auto major is in advanced stage of negotiations with Orissa Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Ltd, for setting up the plant near OSCOM’s site at Matikahal, near Chhatrapur, about 30 km from here. …

The rare earth metals used in manufacturing several electronics items, magnet and automobile tools are in high demand in the international markets.The officials of IREL have anticipated several other companies to come forward to set up their plants to process the individual rare earths in the area.

It may be noted that OSCOM is setting up a 10 million tonne per annum monazite processing plant within its existing unit in Orissa.

…  The monazite processing plant is expected to start production from next year. Presently the Mining and Mineral Separation (MMS) plant of OSCOM is producing ilmenite and associated minerals by processing the rare earth minerals which are abundant in the Ganjam coast. The present capacity of the MMS plant of OSCOM is 2,20,000 tonnes per annum and the capacity utilization of the plant is almost 100 per cent.

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

The Army is proposing to set up a full-fledged military hospital at Gopalpur in Ganjam district and upgrade Kalinga School in Bhubaneswar, which is up to Class V, to an Army Public School from next session. The proposal to set up six polyclinics has been agreed in principle by the Government of India and they are going to be functional shortly at Sambalpur, Angul, Dhenkanal, Puri, Koraput and Ganjam districts. All veterans should get their registration done through respective station headquarters to avail of the diagnostic facilities.

… Orissa will be the first state to have two Sainik Schools after opening of the Sainik School at Sambalpur for the people of Western Orissa. He said 70 acres of land has been identified for the school along the Goshal-Chiplima road and Sainik School Board will visit the place soon. This apart Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, has been given enhanced financial assistance for its upkeep and all existing scholarships have been doubled.

… Revealing that process of identification of 700 acres of land in Jharsuguda or Sundargarh district is on for location of an Army unit keeping in view rail and air connectivity, Jha said ad hoc Station Headquarters to meet the administrative requirements of the veterans in Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar, Balasore and Gopalpur have been upgraded into fullfledged Station Headquarters.A transit home in Bhubaneswar and a holiday home in Puri for serving soldiers as well as veterans are also on the cards, he added.

Bishnu Das’s article in Business Standard lists many of the solar and biomass power unit projects that are in the pipeline in Odisha. Following are some excerpts.

Solar power units:

• 5 Mw power plant of RSB Energy Pvt Ltd in Sundergarh district
• Enzen Global Solutions’s 5 Mw solar power plant in Khurda district
• Lanco Solar’s 5 Mw solar plant in Cuttack district
• Sunark Solar’s 5 Mw power plant in Puri district
• Kolkata based SREI Infrastructure’s 5 Mw solar power plant in Bolangir district
• Moserbaer Pvt Ltd’s 5 Mw grid interactive solar photo voltaic project
• Sahara India’s 5 Mw solar power plant

Biomass power units:

• Rice husk based power plant being set up by Shali Vahana Green Energy Ltd at Nimidha village in Dhenkanal district
• Satya Bio-Power Industry Ltd planning to set up a 10 Mw plant in Ganjam
• A V N Power Projects setting up a 10 Mw power plant in Kalahandi district
• Prasad Bio-Energy planning a 10 Mw unit in Raygada
• Jay Laxmi Bio-Energy Ltd intends to set up a 10 Mw unit in Nayagarh
• Another plant of similar capacity is proposed by Andhavarapu Bio-Energy in Nawarangpur

(Thanks to Future Berhampur blog for the pointer.)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The Centre has approved the development of four different sectors in Orissa including granite through the cluster approach under the Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme (LMCS).

These clusters include the Ganjam Granite cluster at Berhampur, the handicrafts cluster of the Khurda-based Trishakti Self Help Group (SHG), Sponge Iron cluster at Bonai near Rourkela and plastic cluster at Balasore.

New Delhi-based National Productivity Council (NPC) has been chosen as the nodal agency for the implementation of these cluster units. The formation of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) is necessary for the formal declaration of these cluster units.

“We have already taken steps to form the SPV for the granite cluster at Berhampur”, said Santosh Kumar Bebarta, secretary, Ganjam Granite Cluster. Once all the formalities are completed, the granite cluster will be launched, said B B Dhal, general manager, District Industry Centre (DIC), Ganjam. The deadline for the functioning of the proposed granite cluster is December 31 this year. The SPV of the particular cluster could get a funding up to Rs 10 crore from the Centre for setting up of the Common Service Centre (CSC).

The web page for the Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme (LMCS) is http://www.dcmsme.gov.in/schemes/lean-manufact.htm. In the pilot phase 100 mini-clusters have been proposed.

I hope the above pointers will be useful for readers to approach people and officials in their local area to pursue mini-clusters under the above scheme.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.

A Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) for greater Berhampur is expected to be ready in next six months.

It was declared by Berhampur Development Authority Chairperson Sarat Ranjan Patnaik at a workshop organised in the city on Saturday to elicit views from corporators and councillors of the local urban bodies under the BDA.

 The technical team that attended the workshop was led by chief planner of the Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO), J.B. Khirsagar. The TCPO, which happens to be the technical advisory body of Central Ministry of Urban Development, is preparing the CDP for greater Berhampur.

Mr. Patnaik said earlier the TCPO decided to prepare the master plan in 18 months. But due to requests of the BDA, the TCPO authorities have agreed to expedite the process and complete the process in one year.

He expected the master plan to be ready in another six months.

… The Orissa government is bearing the cost of the CDP preparation, which would cost around Rs. 1.08 crores. Mr. Khirsagar said the TCPO was providing the technical collaboration without taking any consultancy fee.

… The present CDP is being prepared keeping in view the development of greater Berhampur till the year 1931 2031.

The area under greater Berhampur will include the urban centres of Berhampur, Gopalpur and Chatrapur and 139 villages between them.

The CDP will comprise a total area of 317 sq. km. having a population of around 12 lakhs.

Similar CDPs for other areas need to be prepared at the earliest.

A search in the web leads to the call for tenders for CDP for Berhampur area as well as Rourkela area. Some numbers from that document is as follows:

Abstract of area and population on Berhampur Development authority

Abstract of area and population on Rourkela Development authority