___________

Various KBK statistics are known to everyone here as well as to the planning commission. We will not rehash them here. We will just like to point out that various programs in KBK (such as RLTAP) will not work to their potential unless qualified people are willing to be there to implement those programs and unless there are enough local people who are qualified. For example, one can open schools and hospitals and initiate irrigation projects. But if teachers, doctors and engineers do not go there in sufficient numbers to staff the schools, hospitals and irrigation projects they will not achieve their impact. So while we make programs for schools, hospitals and irrigation projects we need to pay attention to the infrastructure aspects that will (a) create enough local teachers, doctors and engineers and (b) will not deter teachers, doctors and engineers to come to this place.

With that in mind we propose that the following be pushed with the central government for implementation in the next 7 years  — the remaining part of the 11th plan and the 12th plan starting in 2012. I think the list below is doable. (Much more needs to be aimed for and done through the state government, industries and people in this region; but here we only focus on what one can realistically push with the central government and achieve.)

1. Railway Infrastructure: The Railway infrastructure of the KBK districts need to be drastically improved. In particular there are several approved lines that need to be speeded up. In addition there are some hanging lines that need to be extended and completed. The following shows the current Railway lines in Odisha.

The following picture shows the lines that bring better rail connectivity to the KBK districts. The ones in brown have been approved and we request that they be completed within the next 2-3 years and. We request that the ones in blue are approved and completed within 5 years.

2. Airport at Jeypore:  Currently Odisha has one airport with commercial flights. That is in Bhubaneswar. AAI is in the process of making another airport at Jharsuguda. We propose that another airport be built near Jeypore-Koraput with commercial flights in mind (small planes to start with) to serve the KBK area. An airstrip is already there.  The following map shows the location and its distance from the other airports in India.

3. Roads: On roads, we request that the construction of the Vijaywada-Ranchi highway be expedited.  More.

4. HRD/Education: The 11th plan has good proposals regarding schools, ITIs and model colleges. But as we said in the beginning of this document, KBK needs to produce its own teachers, doctors and engineers.

As a first step the Odisha government decided to locate the Central University of Odisha in Koraput. However, considering the vast area of KBK, we request the following.

4.1   The 11th plan has provision for having medical colleges and engineering colleges in 5 of the 16 new central universities. (See the page from Volume 3 of 11th plan below.) We request that the one of those medical college and engineering college be established as part of the Central University of Orissa, Koraput.

4.2   A centrally funded engineering college of the kind in Longowal Punjab (SLIET), Kokrajhar Assam and the one being made in Malda (GKCIET): These three centrally funded engineering colleges have rural focus and we request that one such rural focused 3-tier (catering to workers, technicians and engineers) is needed for KBK. We request that it be made in Balangir. In the next page we have cut-outs related to the above mentioned three colleges which show their mission perfectly matches what is needed in the KBK districts.

4.3 Upgradation of Food Craft Institute Balangir to an Institute of Hotel Management.

4.4 Some kind of a centrally funded institute in Kalahandi: One has to be realistic in pursuing something that is achievable; something central government has established in smaller towns in other states; something with similar philosophy as SLIET/GKCIET/CIT-Kokrajhar but in a different field.

4.5 Special funding for proposed state Universities in KBK: The Odisha government higher education task force has recommended new state universities to be made in Jeypore (Koraput), Bhawanipatna (Kalahandi) and Balangir. We request that the central government give a one time 50 crore grant to each of these proposed universities so that they can be started at the earliest.

 5. Job Centers:

• Wagon factory in Kalahandi.
• Tourist infrastructure around Gandhamardan hills and Harishankar.
• Tourist infrastructure around Kolab dam and tribal hamlets of Koraput.

6. KBK+: In addition in the KBK+ district of Kandhamal a branch of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) can be realistically pursued and achieved.

Final Word: Please make additional suggestions. But be realistic. Also, note that here we are talking about what to pursue with the central government.

Following are excerpted from Pioneer reports at here and here.

• Vedanta Aluminum would enhance its refinery, smelter and power plant capacity with a total investment of `37,440 crore. Vedanta Aluminium company would enhance its production capacity Langigarh unit to six million tonne from existing one million tonne. The company would also enhance its production capacity of Jharsuguda aluminium unit to 1.6 million tonne from existing 0.25 million tonne per annum. Similarly, the company would also increase power generation capacity of its CPP (captive power project) to 1,350 mega watt from existing 675 MW at Jharsuguda.
  
• NSL Nagapatnam’s `8,900 crore investment plans in the State. The company would set up a 1320 MW power plant in Angul district at a cost of `6,600 crore, a 5,000-tonne sugar refinery at Paradip with an investment of `800 crore and a textile and spindle mill with 3 lakh spindles at a cost of `1,500 crore at Rayagada.
• ACC Cement’s `1,850 crore three MTPA cement project along with a 50 MW CPP in Malkangiri district 
• Bhusan Steel’s `3,000-crore steel park at Meramundali.
• SPI Ports to set up a 1,320 MW (2 x 660 MW) power plant at Mahakalpada in Kendrapara district at an investment of Rs 6,600 crore.
• KU Pvt Ltd would invest Rs 7,260 crore to set up a power project with 1320 MW power generating capacity at Thakurpur in Sonepur district.
• Rohit Ferro Alloys would spend Rs 2500 crore for setting up a 67.5 MW captive power plant at its 0.6 MTPA stainless steel project at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district.
• Aditya Aluminum to enhance the capacity of its Rayagada alumina refinery to 1.5 MTPA from the present 1 MTPA, and Jharsuguda smelter from 0.26 MTPA to 0.36 MTPA with an total investment of Rs 11,000 crore,
• Jindal India is proposing to enhance the capacity of its power plant from 1,200 MW to 1,800 MW with a total investment of Rs8, 000 crore.
• Ind-Bharat is proposing to expand its power project capacity from 700 MW to 1320 MW by adding a 660 MW unit with a total cost of Rs 3300 crore.
• Kalinga Energy, which is now shifting its site from Babuchaki in Sambalpur to Sodamal in Jharsuguda district has also got green signal to enhance the capacity of its power project from 1000 MW to 1320 MW with a total cost of Rs 6500 crore.

Update: The Odisha CM is making the case that five more districts be included in the list of naxal-hit districts that should be targeted for infrastructure development schemes. Those are: Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Sundergarh, Keonjhar and Kandhamal.

Following is the content of an email that summarizes a point that I have tried to make over the last couple of years. It seems the planning commission has started thinking along the same lines.

The nations attention at this time seems to be focused on the Maoist issue. While the law and order steps are probably necessary, this is a good time to recall the lessons that India learned (and that seems to have worked) in J& K and North East.

What is that lesson?

The lesson is regarding what worked in the North East and J & K is not just policing but the  investment of vast amount of funds towards development programs there.

A similar approach at the same level of funding needs to be taken for the areas that are affected by the Maoist problem.

What is the level of funding for North east and J & K?

Following is extracted from the attached document from the Ministry of Home GOI.
(I can not locate it in their web page now, but I have uploaded the copy I had downloaded from their site to the site http://www.orissalinks.com/bigfiles/internal%20security.pdf )

• PM’s reconstruction plan for J&K announced in Nov 2004  is for Rs. 24,000 crores.
• 1,83,018 crores is allocated for economic development in the North east.

In contrast,  for the Maoist affected areas  in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal; only Rs. 3007.50 crores were spend via Backward Districts Initiative and Rs. 1930.52 crores via Backwards Region Grant Fund.

What is the impact?

J & K and North east vs Maoist affected areas in terms of violence:

• Militancy in J & K resulted in the killing of 1,883 civilians and 789 security forces personnel.
• The militancy-related fatalities in the north-east were 1,909 civilians and 361 security forces personnel."

In contrast 2,281 civilians and 821 security forces personnel were killed between 2004 and 2008 (up to August 31) due to Maoist activity.

Thus there were more civilians and security forces killed between 2004-2008 due to Maoist activity than each in J& K and North east.

I think India needs to pay as much attention (in terms of money and development programs) to the Maoist affected areas as it is paying to J&K and North East.

Moreover, the Maoist affected areas are much poorer, much less literate, and overall more backward in all parameters than J&K and the Northeast. While J&K and Northeast are in the physical frontier of India, the Maoist affected areas are the third frontier. One must note that many countries have had more lives lost in fighting or other uphevels in their interior than in fighting an extrenal enemy. Following are some examples:

In US, 625 thousand people died during the civil war which is more than the number that died in World war 1 and 2 put together. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_casualties_of_war )
In Russia/Soviet Union, the number of deaths estimated are as high as 20 million deaths during Stalin’s regime, 9 million during civil war 1917-1922, and 10 million during the second world war.    (See http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm )
• In China, the number of deaths is estomated at 2.5 million during their civil war (1945-1949), 40 million during Mao’s regime, and 10.45 million in the Second world war. (See http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm )

Thus, just because the Maoist affected areas are in the interior, they should not get less development related attention than J&K and Northeast. As the above numbers show, trouble in the interior can be actually worse than trouble in the physical frontier.

In other words, it would be prudent for GOI to take the Maoist affected areas of India as seriously as J&K and Northeast, and perhaps even more seriously, as they are more backward than J&K and Northeast and put as much or more development resources in those areas.

Currently train lines, roads, airports (in general connectivity) to J&K and Northeast are being fast-tracked and sometimes labeled as National projects. A similar approach to connectivity (rail, roads, etc.) and other development in the Maoist affected areas of India (that includes KBK, Kandhamala, Sudnergarh, Mayurbhanj etc. of Orissa) must be taken urgently. 

Dear Sirs: I would like you to use the above numbers, recall the lessons learned from J & K and North East and take a balanced approach to the maoist problem; Law and order aspects combined with development programs at the same scale as in J & K and Northeast.

There is now an indication that the planning commission has started thinking along the same lines.Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express. 

The Plan panel would be ready with the final draft of the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for development

of the 35 naxal-hit districts spread over nine states in a month’s time.

“The Commission should be ready with the final draft of IAP in a month as consultations with organisations like civil societies are still on,” Member Planning Commission Mihir Shah told reporters after a meeting on IAP with non-government organisation here.

… Shah said funding under the IAP would be done for three years. There are suggestions from civil societies that in the naxal hit districts, Panchayti Raj institutions like Gram Sabha and Panchayat should be used for inclusive development.

… Last week, Ahluwalia had indicated that the panel is working on Rs 13,742 crore financial package for these 35 districts.

He had also disclosed that the proposal came from the Cabinet Committee on Security and would be for a three-year period for infrastructure development.

… The commission is also looking at the possibility of implementing the PESA (Panchayats Extension to Schedule Areas) Act, 1996, to give tribals the right to use minor forest produce.

Parts of as many as nine states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal

— are in the grip of Naxalism.

Among these 35 districts five are in Odisha. They are: Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Sambalpur and Deogarh. The Orissa government is pushing to include Koraput in that list.

Although this is a good start, I think much more needs to be done and to the larger area that I refer to as the third frontier. Perhaps a larger plan can be made for the 12th plan starting 2012. The approach to the 12th five year plan could be a good starting point to submit our feedback. I think the package of Rs 13,742 crores for 35 districts is a good start but not enough. The amount has to be much higher and the number of districts need to be more. In Odisha (see forest map) Kandhamala (51.51% ST), Mayurbhanj (57.87 ST), and Nabarangpur (55.27% ST)  (Keonjhar and Sundergarh also have high ST percent, but they are being developed for other reasons anyway) need to be included and the infrastructure to be fast-tracked must also include Railway lines such as Khurda-Balangir line and the Chakulia-Buaramara line.

Earlier we discussed the coastal belt and the western industrial corridor. However, there is a big part of Odisha outside of these two areas. Although, that area was long neglected except small industrial pockets in Rayagada and Koraput area, things have started happening in the overall area. Following is a map of that.

In the map above Berhampur and Balangir are reference points for the southern tip of the coastal belt and western industrial area respectively. Coming back to the outposts the current industrial areas are:

• Koraput-Jeypore Sunabeda and
• Rayagada-Therubali

They are 150 kms apart. Besides industries, both areas have several engineering colleges and a central university (possibly with a medical college) is coming up near Koraput.

North of Rayagada-Therubali is the Lanjigarh operations of Vedanta and its emerging township. How fast this area develops will depend on how quick there is an understanding between the loacls and the Vedanta people.

Further north is the Bhawanipatna-Kesinga-Titlagarh area. Titlagarh is a railway junction. A train line connecting Bhawanipatna and Junagarh to Lanjigarh rd of the Raygada-Titlagarh line should have passenger traffic in a couple of years. Recently, Bhawaniptna is getting some attention from the state government in terms of HRD institutions. A government engineering college and a government agricultural college has started here and the higher education task force has recommended a state university here. A private medical college is under construction. (However, its progress is slow.) I hope the government takes over the medical college infrastructure that has been built and makes it a government medical college and a location in this area is chosen for the announced Railway wagon factory.  However, for the area to further develop and develop rapidly, the locals need to actively chip in. They need to learn how locals in the Koraput area, Rayagada area, Gunupur and Parlakhemundi have created  and/or facilitated private HRD infrastructure. (For example, each of them have private engineering colleges.) In addition they should form a win-win partnership with Vedanta. If people don’t help themselves and don’t stop actively opposing private development instead of facilitating it, there is only so much the governments can do.

On the eastern side Parlakhemundi and Gunupur are slowly emerging as educational mini-hubs. The JITM and CRESM in Parlakhemundi are together becoming a private university and Gunupur has the biggest (in terms of student intake) engineering college (private or government) of the state. The railway line connecting Gunupur and Parlakhemundi to the Howrah-Chennai line at Naupada is about to start passenger service.

The lone central outpust is Phulbani. At present it has nothing much except some negative name recognition. The government needs to pay attention to this starting with pushing for the early establishment of a branch of the Tribal University here.

However, there are still several areas which are being left out. This includes the area south of Koraput (namely the Malkangiri district) and the districts of Nabarangpur and Nuapada. Unless development spreads there, they will be the new KBK of Odisha.

Following is from a report in Financial Express.

Work on acquisition of land and obtaining of clearances for the twin-site Rs 9,000 crore RSB Metaltech Ltd’s project involving bauxite mining and setting up an alumina refinery unit at Rayagada and a 0.7 million tonne per annum (mtpa) smelter unit plus a 500 MW power plant to be set up at Kamakshyanagar in Dhenkanal in Orissa, are progressing satisfactorily.

… The company intends to transport processed alumina from its Raigada plant to Kamakshyanagar in railway rakes.

“Work on land acquisition as well as environmental clearance has already started; the Orissa government has given final clearance to 1,520 acres of land for the Raygada project and 1,546 acres for the Kamakshyanagar project”, said RSB Metaltech managing director S K Behera, speaking to FE.

The company had applied to the state government for around 3,000 acres of land for each of the sites.

Initial environmental clearance for the project, as well as clearances from the railways, and for water for the plants from the state government has also been obtained.

…  as per the MoU with the Orissa government, RSB Metaltech has entered into a joint venture with Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for bauxite mining and an alumina refinery at Rayagada.

Simultaneously, the company is to set up a 0.7 mtpa capacity smelter plant at Kamakshyanagar which would feed aluminium metal to the 50-odd downstream units that are to come up and which would be manufacturing construction products, auto components like cylinder head, cylinder block, gear box, clutch housing, etc.

Both the Kamakshyanagar and Rayagada units which are expected to become fully operational in five years’ time would together be able to give employment to around 12,000 people, said Behera.

“We will like to invite certain companies to use the hot metal (aluminium) available with us, who will immediately process it (the hot metal) to make auto components and other products and thus save on cost”, said the RSB Transmissions managing director, adding that while some of the downstream units would be fully owned by the RSB group, several others including a number of export-oriented units would be on joint venture basis.

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 an excerpt from a report in expressindia.com.

JK Paper plans to invest around Rs 1,500 crore to set up a new pulp mill at Rayagarh Rayagada, Orissa. “The amount would be raised through a mix of debt and equity in the ratio of 1.5:1,” JK Paper MD Harsh Pati Singhania said. He said the company will raise the money through external commercial borrowings, debt instruments such as foreign currency convertible bonds apart from internal accruals. The new pulp mill will come up with a capacity of 2 lakh tonne per annum and paper a capacity of 1.5 lakh tonne per annum. It is likely to be commissioned in the second half of 2012.

For the new plant, the company will also ramp up its captive power unit from existing 35 mw to 55 mw.

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

Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=54712.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) Shri Jairam Ramesh received a large number of representations in regard to the project for bauxite mining by the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC). In a statement issued here today he said the projects are now being examined in the Ministry for approval or rejection so that there is no ambiguity and project proponents do not misuse the ‘in-principle’ approval. 

The following is the text of Shri Jairam Ramesh on the issue of bauxite mining in Orissa: 

“I have been receiving a large number of representations in regard to the project for bauxite mining by the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) through Vedanta, a private mining company in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Orissa. The total amount of forest land proposed to be diverted is 660.749 ha., of which around 353.14 ha is in the Niyamgiri reserved forest. Concerns have also been raised on the impact that this project will, interalia, have on livelihoods of tribal communities. 

The project application was received in the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoE&F) on February 26, 2005. The MoE&F gave ‘in-principle’ approval for this project on December 11,2008 under the Forest Conservation Act,1980. This ‘in-principle’ approval is to be converted to a final approval after the fulfillment of stipulations contained in the ‘in-principle’ approval. 

As the representations started coming in, on August 6, 2009 the MoE&F asked the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Bhubaneshwar to investigate complaints that project activities have started even without the final approval of the Central Government in violation of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. The site was inspected and the site inspection report was submitted on August 16,2009. The site inspection report found that construction activity had begun in the non-forest revenue land. Technically this is not a violation of the law but it is a violation of the guidelines issued by the MoE&F which says that when a project involves non-forest and forest lands, construction in the non-forest land should not begin without clearance for activity in the forest land itself. A letter has been issued on November 25th,2009 to the Orissa Government asking for an explanation as to how the violation of this guideline has been permitted. 

On August 3, 2009, the MoE&F had issued a binding guideline to all State Governments that application for diversion under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 would be considered only after all due processes contained in the Scheduled Tribe and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 have been fully and satisfactorily completed. A letter was subsequently issued by the MoE&F to the Orissa Government on November 3, 2009 directing the State to comply with the provisions of the Scheduled Tribe and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Rights) Act, 2006 and provide evidence for the compliance before the Centre could examine conversion of the ‘in-principle’ approval to final approval. The reply of the state government is awaited. In addition, another site inspection team is being sent in the next one week to verify fresh allegations of violations of the terms of the ‘in-principle’ approval under Forest Conservation Act,1980. 

The new policy of the MoE&F does away with the concept of ‘in-principle’ approval. Projects are now being examined for approval or rejection so that there is no ambiguity and project proponents do not misuse the ‘in-principle’ approval.” 

KP/

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.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Steelguru.

… Orissa Government, in its bid to encourage power generation from waste has given its accord to 8 bio mass based power projects with a combined generation capacity of 90 MW by private developers.

The proposed projects are likely to be set up in Raygada, Nawarangpur, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Puri districts. The cost per MW of power is expected to be between INR 4.5 crore to INR 5 crore depending on the location and evacuation facilities.

Moreover, the Sali Vahana Green Energy is planning to set up a 20 MW bio mass based power plant in Dhenkanal and Satya bio power Industry, a 10 MW plant in Ganjam. Prasad bio energy plans to set up a 10 MW unit in Raygada. While Jaylaxmi bio energy Limited to set up a 10 MW unit in Nayagarh another plant of similar capacity by Andhavarapu bio energy is likely to come up in Nawarangpur. Sampath Power Projects and Falcon Green Energy propose 10 MW capacity units each in Khurda and Puri respectively.

Indian Express has a nice article on the history of Parlakhemundi light railway. Following are some excerpts.

Paralakhemedi Light Railway (PLR) was two feet six inches gauge railway. It was the brainchild of the erstwhile Raja of Paralakhemedi. The Kimedi country, consisting of Paralakhemedi, Paddakimedi and Chinna Kimedi, was under a single ruler till 1607. Paralakhemedi came under the British influence in 1768.

East Coast Railway came into existence in the year 1893 with the construction of the Cuttack-Khurda Road-Puri line, covering a distance of 96 kms and its subsequent link along the East Coast up to Vijayawada — junction point of Southern Maratha Railway and Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway. As a result, a stretch of 1280 kms of East Coast Railway, covering the entire coastal stretch of Cuttack, Khurda Road, Puri, Palasa, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, was opened for traffic between 1893 to 1896. East Coast Railway brought rail line to Naupada in 1894. The Raja of Paralakhemedi decided to connect his capital with Naupada, which was only 40 kms away. With the government giving sanction in 1898, work began in full earnest. The line was opened to traffic in 1900. This railway line was built at a cost of Rs 7 lakh.

Due to a change in the policy of the British Government, the Bengal Nagpur Railway, popularly known as the B.N.R, took over the northern section of East Coast Railway from Vizianagaram to Cuttack, including the Branch Line of Puri, by 23-01-1902. Accordingly, the working of the PLR was taken over by the Bengal-Nagpur Railway in 1902. In the first few years, the PLR had incurred losses but after 1910, it started making marginal profits and after 1924-25, the profits increased. This motivated the Raja to extend the line to Gunupur in two phases in 1929 and 1931. There were now a total of ten stations between Naupada and Gunupur. Tekkali, Paddasan, Temburu, Ganguvada, Patapatnam, Paralakhemedi, Kashinagar, Lihuri, Bansidhara and Palasingi.

The management of BNR was taken over by the Government of India in October 1944. On 14-04-1952, at the time of the re-grouping of the Indian Railways it became part of the Eastern Railway. The merger of B.N.R. into Eastern Railway, however, did not last long and on 01-08-1955 it was merged with newly constituted South Eastern Railway. During the SER centenary celebrations in 1987, set of four postage stamps were released. One of the stamps featured the PL 691 locomotive.

The standard type of locomotive on PLR was the 20 ton 0-6-4 tank locomotive with small (27 inch diameter) coupled wheels and an axle load of only 4.75 tons. …

The foundation-stone was finally laid for the Naupada-Gunupur gauge conversion work at Naupada on September 27, 2002. With effect from April 1, 2003, PLR became a part of the newly formed East Coast Railway. The line was finally closed for gauge conversion on June 9, 2004.

— VIKAS SINGH, RAIL ENTHUSIAST
Courtesy National Rail Museum

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

The state government today inked an MoU with RSB Metaltech for setting up of an integrated light metal aluminum complex. The papers were signed by state industries and mines secretary Dr Ashok Dalwai and RSB Metaltech MD Mr SK Behera …

In the first phase, the proposed company, with an investment of around Rs 6,800 crore, will produce about 7 lakh tonnes per of alumina. In the second phase, nearly 1.75 lakh tonnes of aluminium is expected to be produced from the plant. The produced aluminium will be used for production of finer parts in motor vehicles, aerospace, railway and construction industry.

While the mining and refinery units of the project will come up a Rayagada, the smelter unit and power plant are proposed to be set up at Kamakshyanagar in Dhenkanal.

Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik said that the project will generate about 11,000 direct and the equal number of indirect jobs. "This project, along with its alumina refinery at Rayagada and Gopalpur port will form an industrial corridor in southern Orissa," Mr Patnaik said adding that the corridor will help fast development, alleviation of poverty and improvement of life of the local people in that region. He suggested that provisions should be made to provide technical education to local youths. "The rehabilitation, resettlement and environment aspect should be taken proper care of," he pointed out.

The Union minister has been requited to expedite and complete the "Therubali-Gunupur railway project to enhance the connectivity in that region," he informed.

I wonder about the progress of the earlier plan of establishing an auto component manufacturing plant near Cuttack by RSB Transmission. (See  http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/421.)

Following is the news report on the discussion (almost a confrontation) with the Railway Board Chair, as reported in India Abroad. The basic premise behind our grievances against Indian Railways and our demands is simple.

• Indian railways is scheduled to make 2500-3000 crores/year from Orissa, but spends only 1000 crores/year on Orissa in terms of new lines, doubling and gauge conversion.
• Its current plan for major spending includes freight corridors, metro rails, and high speed rails, none of which touch Orissa. It plans to do gauge conversion of 12000 kms, most of which is unprofitable (this proves that Indian Railway lies when it says it only does profitable lines), very little (less than 100 km) of which is in Orissa.
• Orissa is already behind the national average in terms of rail density and way behind its neighbors such as West Bengal and Bihar. If no changes are made to the 11th plan IR allocations Orissa will further fall behind.
• Indian Railways must not take money from its profit in Orissa, and spend it else where, until it takes care of proper connectivity to Orissa’s tribal, backward and maoist infested areas. The 2500-3000 times 5 = 12,500 -15,000 crore that Indian Railways will profit from Orissa during the 11th plan must be spend in new lines in Orissa until the (i)-(v) lines below and other port and mine connectivity lines are completed during the 11th plan.
• To Mr. Jena’s retort that Mumbai earns so much in taxes and not all of it is spent in Mumbai; we reply that it is often acceptable to take from rich and give to poor; But when did it become acceptable to take from poor (Orissa) and give to rich (freight corridors etc. in other states)?

The lines in Orissa connecting to the tribal and backward areas that we demand to be finished during the 11th plan are:

• (i) Khurda Rd – Nayagarh – Balangir: Lack of connectivity was one of the reasons a recent Maoist mayhem happened in Nayagarh. It seems after recent events, including the confrontation with the Railway Board Chair and various dharanas in Bhubaneswar, IR has started responding to this demand, but not to the extent to promise its completion during the 11th plan. Note that Balangir is the B in the KBK districts that are the most backward in India.
• (ii) Lanjigarh Rd – Junagarh – Nabarangpur – Jeypore – Malkangiri – Bhadrachalam Rd in Andhra Pradesh: Only small part of this is approved. Most of it is not even surveyed. In the long run this will really bring those parts of Orissa closer to the rest of Orissa. This is the most important connection and has to be take care of at the earliest. Like the approved Vijaywada-Ranchi highway, this line will create an alternative Hyderabad – Ranchi path passing through backward and tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand. This line will connect the Kalahandi and Koraput districts, the two K’s in KBK. The recent Maoist attack and killing of the Greyhound forces in Malkangiri might have been prevented if this line existed as then the forces would have used the train rather than being seating ducks taking a boat across a lake in Malkangiri.
• (iii a) Rayagada – Gopalpur: This has been surveyed and but work on it has not started. Note that Rayagada is part of the undivided Koraput district, one of the K’s of KBK. This line could come under port connectivity and will be a viable line connecting the industries near Rayagada with the upcoming port in Gopalpur.
• (iii b) Gunupur – Theruvali: This will add to the Naupada-Gunupur line and make it an economically viable line. (IR and Mr. Jena agree about its importance.) This line will be completely inside the Raygada district, part of the undivided Koraput district, one of the K’s of KBK.
• (iv) Talcher – Bimlagarh (connectivity to the tribal district of Sundergarh): This line has been approved but is only being given a few crores each year, which is less than the inflation. This line will reduce the distance between Sundergarh district and teh coastal areas significantly. For example, it will make Rourkela only 4-5 hrs from Bhubaneswar.
• (v) Baripada/Buramara – Chakulia: This line will connect the tribal district of Mayurbhanj to tribal areas of Jharkhand. It will add to the Rupsa-Baripada-Bangiriposi line and make it an economically viable line. (IR and Mr. Jena agree about its importance.)

All these lines can be completed if Indian railways just suspends its practice of taking from poor (Orissa) and giving to the rich for only a few years (may be just 3-4 years). The following maps show the above mentioned lines.

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.

See details at http://tathya.in/story.asp?sno=1866. Following is an excerpt.

The meeting with the Chief Minister of Orissa on Thursday turned sour, when his company Utkal Alumina International Limited (UAIL) was blamed for the delay.

A senior mandarin in charge of a crucial regulatory department charged Mr.Birla of creating hurdle for him self.

“I take strong exception to it”, retorted Mr.Kumar Mmangalam.

But the no nonsense officer was clearly in no mood to relent.

He said that "the fact is fact and some body should call spade a spade".

The senior mandarin charged UAIL of turning pro-industry people as anti-industry in the area.

He said after 2004, UAIL take over by A V Birla Group, it has only erected a boundary wall and now asking for moon without doing any thing.

A V Birla Group is asking for more bauxite mines and coal linkage for their group.

… UAIL’s Managing Director Debu Bhattacharya was seen fuming over the allegations hurled against them in front of the Chief Minister.

But they were undone and agreed to go for value addition by setting up a smelter plant to use the alumina.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business houses of the country having interests in sectors like aluminium, telecom, cement, textiles, fertiliser, mining, retail, finance and insurance plans to invest about Rs 75,000 – 80,000 crore in Orissa.

The proposed amount will be invested in sectors like aluminium,cement, telecom and retail sectors in the state over next few years.

… Birla, who was here to discuss some project related issues with the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, the company also intends to launch its retail business in Orissa as part of its national roll out plan. It will be launched within the next 6 months.

… Stating that the projects are proceeding well, he said, the company is committed to a lot of social work like setting up ITIs and health centres at the project sites.

… Regarding the resistance of the local people to the alumina refinery project Utkal Alumina at Raygada, the group chairman said, a lot of projects are facing the same problem. The company has sought the state government’s intervention in resolving the issue.

He said, ABG took over the company four years ago from Alcan Inc and the company has complied with the rehabilitation and resettlemnet (R& R) package given to it. He, however, was non-commital about any additional package for the project affected people.

" We can not commit on the new package. As long as there is reasonable settlement we will be happy", he pointed out.

Regarding the possibility of investing in the port sector of the state, Birla said, the company is persuing the matter with the Orissa government and is expecting a positive outcome.

It may be noted, Essel Mining, a group company of the ABG had earlier proposed the state government to set up a port at Chudamani. However, the state government had not accepted its proposal.

The major projects of the group in Orissa include Utkal Alumina refinery at Raygada, Hindalco’s alumina smelter and power plant at Sambalpur and 3.5 million tonne per annum cement plant in Sundergarh district.

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