Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

Aditya Birla Group chairman, Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla is very hopeful of completion of the Rs 4,500-crore alumina refinery plant coming up at Kashipur in Koraput district and expansion of Hindalco aluminium smelter project at Hirakud in Sambalpur district. 

… In June last year, the Orissa government had recommended the union mining ministry to allot mining lease of Lakharis bauxite deposit in Koraput district in favour of Hindalco Industries Limited, the flagship company of Aditya Birla Group.

This is the second bauxite deposit to be allotted to the Group, which entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Orissa government in April, 2005 is to set up a world-class aluminium complex in the state.

Officials said the Lakharis mine is estimated to have about 45 million bauxite deposits.

Earlier, the Hindalco was allotted Kodingamali bauxite deposit in the district for its proposed aluminium complex at Kansari.

Aditya Aluminium (another unit of Hindalco) had signed a MoU with the Orissa government on April 8, 2005 to set up an integrated aluminium complex in the state. The project involves a total investment of Rs 11,500 crores for production of 1.5 lakh tones of alumina and 3.25 lakh tonnes of aluminium per annum.

Aditya Aluminium has already signed a joint venture umbrella agreement with the Orissa Mining Corporation for bauxite mining in Koraput district.

The company has sought 2012 acres of land for its refinery and 3331 acres for the smelter, sources said.

The state government is in the process of acquiring land for the project, but faces problem in some villages, the sources added resulting in the delay in grounding of the project.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Orissadiary.

“With in coming 6 months the 32 seated Aero-service to commence from Jeypore”, declared by MP Shri. Jayaram Pangi along with some Administration Officials at Jeypore Airport. …

During past 1962 the said Airport was established by Ex-Chief Minister Biju Pattanik. During 1980 the service commenced on those days from Jeypore to Vishakapatnam and Bhubaneswar. But now days the said Airport get activated during the VIP visits only. After establishing HAL at Sunabeda the said Airport was established, but the importance found raised after the establishment of NALCO at Damanjodi.

To get KBK out of backwardness governments at the center and states have had packages for KBK, but they have not helped that much. The following suggestion by Jibanendra Mohanty in Orissa Today is a very good suggestion. Our government should pursue it.

Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal  have made significant progress on Industrialization during the last few years, via the Special Industrial Package provided by the Government of India. Most of the Industries set up in recent times  are in  Manufacturing/Engineering/ Agro-products/ Drugs & Pharmaceuticals/ Computer Hardware, etc  not dependent upon mining operations.  The high lights of these Industries are  a) they need small land parcels i.e.  areas of 1 to 10 acres, b) they provide  employment ranging from 50 to 1000 persons/unit.  These Industries do not need mining operation, do not need  high  water consumption nor do they create  major problem for Ecology and Environment. These Industries have made significant impact on the  employment & economic front and on  all round development of the States.

 The existing  special  package is valid up to end of 2010 and the States have already started lobbying for extension of the said package up to 2020.

Now the Question is why such special Industrial package is not being provided  for the KBK region of Odisha??

The above is a very good idea. Some links on special industrial package for Himachal Pradesh is here. Links for special industrial package for Uttarakhand is here and here. 

The Orissa state government should pursue this. In Koraput and Kalahandi the focus can be on downstream industries and Balangir which is very well connected by Rail as well as by NH the focus could be on all kinds of industries.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… Projects awaiting the chief minister’s nod include those proposed by National Thermal Power Corporation (Rs18,000 crore), L&T-Dubal (Rs 19,668 crore) and Lanco Babanh Power (Rs 11,402 crore) among others.

… The SLSWCA in its meeting held in March 2007 cleared the Rs 4232.54 crore investment proposal of Ashapura Minechem Ltd for setting up of a 0.5 million tonne per annum (mtpa) alumina refinery and 0.15 mtpa smelter with 300 Mw captive power plant (CPP) in Koraput district.

Similarly, NTPC proposal to set up a 3200 Mw thermal power project at Darlipali in Sundergarh district was approved by the SLSWCA in February 2008.

The fate of L&T’s proposal to set up an alumina-aluminium complex at Kusumsila near Rayagada and Vadrapali near Sambalpur in joint venture with Dubal is still uncertain.

Sources said, the HLCA is yet to consider the Rs 8,250 crore investment proposal of Orissa Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (OTPCL) to set up a 2000 Mw coal based power plant at Rengali. It is also yet to take up the Lanco Babandh Power’s application to enhance the MoU capacity from 1320Mw to 2640 Mw at Kurunti and Kharagprasad in Dhenkanal district.

The Rs 3101.86 crore proposal of Tata Sponge Iron to set up a 1.5 mtpa steel making capacity at Beliapada near Joda, recommended by the SLSWCA in May this year, is also pending for approval by the chief ministers.

… Though VAL had proposed to expand the capacity of its existing refinery at Lanjigarh from 1 mtpa to 6 mtpa, smelter plant capacity from 0.25 mtpa to 1.6 mtpa and the captive power plant (CPP) capacity from 674 Mw to 1350 Mw with a combined investment of Rs 37,440 crore, it was cleared in part by the SLSWCA.

The SLSWCA meeting held in May this year had recommended for a smelter capacity of 0.5 mtpa as the company had already achieved this level while approving the capacity expansion of the CPP to 1350 Mw without any increase in the refinery capacity.

Similarly, Hindalco Industries Ltd (Aditya Aluminium) had proposed to expand its alumina refinery capacity to 1.5 mtpa from 1 mtpa and expansion of its smelting capacity to 0.72 mtpa from 0.26 mtpa along with an increase in the CPP capacity to 1650 Mw from 650 Mw.

SLSWCA has only recommended a marginal increase in the smelting capacity from 0.26 mtpa to 0.36 mtpa and CPP capacity from 650 Mw to 950 Mw to the HLCA. Partial approval of these proposals was officially attributed to the non-availability of bauxite linkage and pending the final report of the environmental carrying capacity study taken up by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board.

That apart, the SLSWCA in its meeting on 26 August 2009 also recommended two projects of Rs 14,275 crore to HLCA. The Rs 7988 crore proposal of JR Powergen Private Ltd to set up a 1980 Mw power plant at Kishorenagar near Angul and BRG Energy Systems’s proposal to set up a 1320 Mw power plant at an investment of Rs 6287 crore at Bhapur in Nayagarh district are yet to be approved by HLCA.

NALCO has its headquarter in Bhubaneswar. In Orissa, its major operations are in Angul and Damanjodi (Koraput). This week there has been several different news reports about it. We start with an excerpt from a report in Telegraph about the proposed aluminum park in Angul.

An MoU was signed between the central public sector National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) here this evening.

… The proposed aluminium park, with an estimated cost of Rs 75 crore, will be located at Angul close to the smelter plant of Nalco, said its chairman and managing director C.R. Pradhan.

Nalco and Idco will set up a joint venture on 50:50 basis soon after signing the MoU, he said.

A pre-feasibility study for the aluminium park was conducted by AF Ferguson and 200 acre land has already been earmarked. Electricity, water, road facilities would be developed soon, Pradhan said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express about the bauxite mine it got in Andhra Pradesh.

National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) is all set to go ahead with its Rs 6,000 crore aluminium complex venture in Andhra Pradesh as the bauxite mines it had sought has been cleared by the Centre and the Andhra Pradesh government. The company has bagged Gudem and Katamraju Konda bauxite mines in AP, which promises a deposit of 85 million tonne of bauxite, according to a Nalco spokesperson.

Nalco plans to build a 1.4 million tonne green field alumina refinery based on the Gudem and KR Konda bauxite deposits at Visakhapatnam at an estimated investment of Rs 6,000 crore.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Reuters.

NALCO plans to build a 310,000 tonne smelter and a power plant in Iran with Iran’s Kerman Development Organisation in a project that would cost it 80 billion rupees ($1.7 billion).

"Maybe in a month or two we will go ahead for signing the joint venture agreement with our local partner," B.L. Bagra, NALCO’s director of finance, told Reuters.

… Another overseas venture in Indonesia for a smelter and power plant was awaiting port and rail concessions by the Indonesia government, Bagra said.

Following is from a report in farminguk.com.

The large poultry farm meant for research and promotion of poultry farming in south Orissa had been closed down due to management problems. It was revived and modernised with Central aid. It would serve as a major breeding farm in south Orissa. The chicks produced in this poultry farm would be sold to poultry farmers of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Nayagarh districts.

The Regional Poultry Farm is ready to start its sale of newly-hatched chicks from 29 April. … The farm has decided to specialize in breeding ’Banraj’ breed of poultry. The head of the farm, G.Naresh Kumar informed that at present the animal husbandry department is promoting this breed among rural poultry farmers.

The Banraj breed is being promoted to cash on the market of organic chickens of traditional breeds, which are still grown in large numbers in rural areas in an unorganised manner. The traditional breeds are slow growing yet they have a good market and fetch good price in market. It may be noted that similar poultry farms of the State government at Chiplima, Angul, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Semiliguda and Koraput are also being modernised to meet the increasing need of poultry products in Orissa.

The Government of India has a Department of Animal Husbandry and Diarying under its ministry of Agriculture. That Department has the following sub-ordinating offices, of which three are in Orissa. Orissa should try to get a Fisheries division office.

I. Animal Husbandry Division

1. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, P.O. Dhamrod, District Surat, Gujarat.
2. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Andesh Nagar, District Lakhimpur, (UP).
3. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Similiguda, P.O. Sunabada (Koraput) Orissa.
4. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
5. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Chiplima, P.O. Basantpur, District Samalpur, (Orissa).
6. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm, Avadi, Alamadhi (Madras).
7. # Central Cattle Breeding Farm,P.O. Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
8. # Central Frozen Semen Production and Training Institute, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
9. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-15, Jagdish Colony, Rohtak (Haryana).
10. # Central Herd Registration Unit, W-34, G.N.M. Colony, Christian Ganj, Ajmer – 305 001.
11. # Central Herd Registration Unit, 10, Gautam Vihar, Cooperative Society Building, Usmanpura, Ahmedabad.
12. # Central Herd Registration Unit, Santhapat, Ongole 523 001, District Prakasam (A.P.)
13. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Netaji Subhash Sanitorium, Kalyani, Distt Nadia (W Bengal).
14. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, 48, Rajbagh (Extension) Srinagar (J&K).
15. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Suratgarh (Rajasthan).
16. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, P.O. Textile Mill Hissar (Ha ryana)_.
17. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, GA 128/2, Sector No. 30, Gandhinagar, (Gujarat).
18. # Regional Station For Forage Production & Demonstration, Avadi, Alamadhi, (Madras)-600052.
19. # Regional Station for Forage Production & Demonstration, Mamidipally, Via Keshavagiri, Hyderabad – 500005.
20. # Central Fodder Seed Production Farm, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
21. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Delhi -Gurgaon Road, Kapashera Village, New Delhi.
22. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Velachary Main Road, P.O. Pallikarni Village, Madras – 601 302.
23. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Village Gopalpur, P.O. Gopalpur, Distt Choubis parganas (W Bengal).
24. # Animal Quarantine & Certification Service Station, Bombay – 400 065.
25. # Central Sheep Breeding Farm, P.O. Box No. 10, Hissar – 125 001 (Haryana).
26. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Southern Region, Hessarghatta, Bangalore North.
27. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Eastern Region, Bhubaneshwar.
28. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Western Region, Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai.
29. # Central Poultry Development Organization, Northern Region, Industial Area Chandigarh.
30. # Random Sample Poultry Performance Testing Centre, 69/4, Urban Estate, Gurgaon (Haryana).

II Dairy Development Division

1. # Delhi Milk Scheme, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi.

III Fisheries Division

1. # Central Institute of Coastal Engineering For Fishery, Bangalore
2. # Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training, Cochin.
3. # Integrated Fisheries Project, Cochin.
4. # Fisheries Survey of India, Mumbai.
5. # Aquaculture Authority, Chennai.

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

To:

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister of India

Cc: Mr. Naveen Patniak, Chief Minister of Orissa

Cc: Shri Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Governor of Orissa

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

Dear Dr. Singh: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sincerely

Appendix:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times by Nageshwar Patnaik.

… With the state attracting around Rs 6,00,000-crore investments, including two biggest FDI proposals from ArcelorMittal and Posco, property prices in the city have jumped 4-8 times in five years.

Rapid urbanisation coupled with positive developments in sectors like information technology, biotechnology and mega investments in airport, steel, aluminium, mining, power, railways, road, port, hospitality and manufacturing has given a boost to realty in the state capital. A 1,200 square feet apartment in an up market area such as Kharabela Nagar, Forest Park and Saheed Nagar now costs between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 40 lakh.

“There is a mismatch between demand and supply, leading to steep hike in property prices in Bhubaneswar. Against a demand of 2,0000 houses in the medium and upper housing categories, the supply is mere 1,000 houses only. …

In the last five years, the city has witnessed tremendous growth in all segments,IT park, BPO, call centres, hotels, technical institutes, medical colleges and hospitals. In fact, the rise in number of world-class educational institutes has put the pressure on the city. This also has attracted many leading real estate companies in the country, which have taken the land for different projects.

But confusion is writ large among both the developers and customers with the government owning around 80% of land. “The state government is yet to come out with a clear policy on real estate for the capital city. Besides, land consolidation policy is conspicuous by its absence. …

The state government owns about 80% of the land in the state capital while 10% of private land is under legal dispute and the rest 10% is in the hands of landlords. The leading real estate companies from the country have taken land from the government to put up huge properties.

DLF has taken 54 acres of land from the state government owned IDCO near Infocity at Chandrasekharpur where it is coming up with 40 lakh square feet floor space to accommodate an IT Park, shopping, hotels, retail and residential apartments. Similarly, Unitech emerged as a successful bidder for 11 acres of land leased out by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority to develop commercial properties like multiplexes, retail and office space.

Vipul Group is developing a 19-acre township in a public private partnership mode with Orissa State Housing Board (OSHB). Similarly, Mumbai-based K Raheja Corp proposes to set-up a Mindspace IT Park here through a joint venture with the government or any of its agencies over 30 acres in three years at an investment of Rs 250 crore.

Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (IIDCO) will acquire land for the project. FIRE (First Indian Real Estate) Capital Fund, a global PE Fund, is eyeing major investments in Bhubaneswar. …

Telegraph (kolkata) reported the following.

Laxmipur is a hamlet in the hills in the wild western part of Orissa. It was unheard of by tourists even a decade back. The launch of the 160 km-plus Koraput-Rayagada line put it on the map of those willing to go off the beaten track.

The new line branches off the Kirandul-Visakhapatnam route through the Araku Valley, covering Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The tracks were laid mainly for transportation of minerals mined in the region and development of tribals who populate the stretch.

The route, with numerous waterfalls and over 40 tunnels, is one of the most picturesque in the country. The 1.5-km tunnel near Tikri is the longest on broad gauge tracks in India. There are also more than 50 bridges.

At an altitude of 3,000 ft, Laxmipur is surrounded by thickly forested hills. The forest envelops even the station, which is 3 km from the village. It is deserted after evening, when wild animals often drop by.

According to the station master, a stray dog that lived in the compound was carried away by a leopard in front of his eyes. Bear, hyena, wild boar, neelgai, sambar and peacock are some of the other inhabitants of the forest.

Several streams gurgle through mango, jackfruit, mahogany, tamarind, sirish and akashmoni trees to merge with rivers like the Marbeguda, Apreboda and Godlam. There are several water bodies which are frequented by animals. Tribals constitute the only human presence.

Clouds stretching several kilometres hang over the hilltops from monsoon to winter. This has earned Laxmipur the epithet of Darjeeling of Orissa. Nights can be cold even in August-September.

Damonjodi, Kakrigumma, Tikri, Rauli, Lilligumma, Bhalamaska and Kentuguda are some of the stations near Laxmipur that are also known for their wild natural beauty.

The largest bauxite mine in India is at Damonjodi. Bhalamaska was named after bears that overrun the forest.

There are many places of tourist interest in the vicinity. Koraput, Kolaba, Gupteswar, Duduma and Chitrakoot and Tiratgarh falls are worth a visit.

Going

Howrah-Koraput Express touches Laxmipur. If you are staying at Rayagada, get off there. Cars are available on hire for the 60 km-plus journey to Laxmipur.

Staying

Rayagada and Koraput have plenty of hotels. Contact the divisional forest officers at Rayagada and Koraput for government-run accommodation. There are also a few lodges at Laxmipur, along the Rayagada-Koraput road.

NOTE: This region needs more advertisment, it has all the ingredients to be one of the best tourist distinations for nature, water fall and wild life lovers. Aditionally, the region is also popular for tribal tourism.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Kalinga Times.

National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the flagship PSU of the Ministry of Mines and India ’s largest manufacturer and exporter of alumina and aluminium, has been granted the Navratna status.

Navratna status is conferred on select Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE),on becoming significant players in the economic development of the country.

On achieving the status, certain powers are delegated to those CPSEs that had comparative advantages and capacity to become global giants.

As per the wikipedia entry on Navratna:

The ‘Navaratna’ status offers a company enhanced financial and operational autonomy and empowers it to invest up to Rs. 1000 cr or 15% of their net worth on a single project without seeking government approval. In a year, these companies can spend up to 30% of their net worth not exceeding Rs. 1000 cr. They will also have the freedom to enter joint ventures, form alliances and float subsidiaries abroad.

 

The following list is from www.orissatourism.gov.in/new/Identified_Tourist_Centre_of_Orissa_261207.pdf.

Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.

Andhra Pradesh has agreed to the State Government proposal to share 50 percent of the total energy generated from Machhkund hydro power station in Koraput district.

A ministerial level meeting of the two States in Hyderabad today resolved to get approval of the governments on the proposal within one month. The two States will sign an agreement here sometime in April, said Energy Minister S N Patro.

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) will be approached for evaluation of asset and the cost of the additional 20 percent share of the hydro power station will be paid to Andhra Pradesh.

The meeting also decided to go for renovation and uprating of the hydro power station having installed generating capacity of 114.75 mega watt. The cost for renovation and uprating will be shared on 50:50 basis, Patro said, adding the staffing pattern will be on equal basis.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The State Government has decided on setting up of a Rs 120-crore sugar factory in the private sector in Koraput. With the availability of water from river Indravati and its tributaries, the sugarcane cultivation has been a big success in the blocks of Borrigumma, Kotpad and Jeypore in Koraput district and Nandahandi, Tentulikhunti, Nabarangpur and Kosagumuda blocks in Nabarangpur district. The cane is grown in about 8,000 hectares of land in the two districts per annum and over 3,000 trucks of sugarcane are produced. As there is no sugar factory in the region, farmers depend on the sugar factory at Balangir to sell their produce. Now, a sugar factory project, to be set up near Aunli in Koraput district by Indravati Sugar Company, has been cleared by the Government. The factory is expected to come up by the next crop season.

Following is from Team Orissa’s September 2007 newsletter.

Following up on the ad that appeared in Samaja, there have been several reports with more details. Following are excerpts from a New Indian Express report.

The airline will operate eight-seater aircraft from the Capital City to places like Barbil, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, Jeypore, Sambalpur and Rayagada.

Ticket fare to Barbil would cost around Rs 5000 and to Jeypore Rs 7000. For corporate flyers and individuals buying to and fro tickets, a 40 percent discount can be availed of as an introductory offer.

General Manager (operations) Sumit Mukherjee said, those buying one-way ticket would also be given a 30 percent concession. Talking to mediapersons here, he said, the airline had already positioned one Islander BN2T turboprop aircraft capable of short takeoff and landing on these routes.

The travelling time would vary from 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Services would run on all days expect Sundays. A Bell 206 BIII helicopter with four seats would be introduced for charter service, he said. Sky Airways is a division of New Delhi-based GSI Pvt. Ltd and is headquartered in Kolkata.

… “We will introduce two aircraft to these places with a seating capacity for 19 passengers before the end of the current year.”

Another news item mentioned that they plan to fly from such towns to Kolkata in the future.

Following is a bit of information on Sky Airways:

• A report in Telegraph mentions the following:

… Sky Airways (backed by the M.L. Agarwal group, with business interests in Orissa�s mining and steel sectors) …

Follow are excerpts from a Statesman report.

The high powered committee headed by chief secretary Mr Ajit Tripathy today cleared 16 investment proposals, entailing an investment of approximately Rs 30,000 crore.

The projects mainly in the power, steel, aluminium and cement sectors were amongst the 40 project proposals placed before the committee. There were three steel and three power projects amongst the 16 which got the nod today.

Significantly while the Ashapura mines chemicals project proposal for a aluminium refinery was approved, the aluminium project of IMFA Group headed by Dr Bansidhar Panda was held up.

… two task forces had been constituted to further evaluate the proposals in the cement and power sectors. The Industry secretary will head the task force for cement sector projects while the development commissioner will be in charge of the task force for power projects, …

The power projects cleared by the committee today included the Bhusan Energy project which intends to establish a 2,000 MW thermal power plant at Angul with an investment of Rs 8,483 crore. The Visa Power Limited’s 1,000 mw Thermal Power plant at Brhamnabasta in Cuttack district at a cost of Rs 3,698 crore was also cleared while the third power project was of Monnet Energy at Sundergarh. It will be a 1,000 mw plant.

The Rs 4,232 crore aluminium project of Ashpura Mines Chemicals to come up in Koraput district was cleared. It aims at setting up a 5 lakh ton refinery and a 1.5 lakh ton smelter plant besides having a 300 MW captive power plant .

The Committee approved the three new steel plant projects and the expansion of existing five steel projects in the state.

Bonei Industry company’s project to set up a plant at Sundergarh at a cost of Rs 302 crore, M/s Rungta Sons Ltd’s proposal to set up a steel plant at Barmunda at a cost of Rs 930 crore and Free Grade company Ltd’s steel plant at Dhenkanal at a cost of Rs 603 crore were also cleared.

Expansion proposals of SMC Power Generation and MSP Mettalics at Jharsuguda, Braja Ispat, Rourkela and the Keonjhar Orient Ispat were given the go ahead by the committee.

ACC Cement’s proposal for investment of Rs 400 crore for its capacity development was approved while Goa Carbons Ltd’s proposal for a CPC coke plant with an investment of Rs 225 crore was also cleared.