Following was obtained from a pdf file at the IDCO web site.
(This is another in the series of articles about future urban agglomerations and hubs in Orissa. Earlier we wrote about Berhampur area, Burla-Sambalpur-Jharsuguda area and Rourkela area. Now lets turn our focus to North Orissa.)
The more I think about the Rasgovindpur airport the more it seems that this area has a high potential of becoming a fine urban agglomeration. Following are some of the things that are going for this area.
The above are some of the points that are going in favor of this area. The local people are also very active in demanding things for the area. Currently people from both Balasore and Baripada are demanding a medical college for the area. That is definitely a need. The following news item from today’s Samaja highlights the demand of the Baripada people. Few months back several thousand people from Balasore had demonstrated in Bhubaneswar for a medical college in Balasore.
Update: Expressbuzz also reports on this.
Following is from today’s Dharitri.
From the above, and its actions in the past, it seems that Orissa government’s future plan in terms of airports are:
Couple of implications of the above are: Berhampur and Rourkela may not get functional airports in the near future (say next 10 years) as they are close to airports at Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda respectively. The overall airport situation in Orissa in 10 years will be as follows:
Now lets analyze how feasible the airports at Jeypore and Rasgovindpur will be.
(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.
The following is constructed using today’s data in the world gazetteer.
Notes:
Considering the close relation between urbanization and other developmental indicators, Orissa must aim to have at least 5 metropolitan areas other than Bhubaneswar with population of 10 lakhs within the next 25 years. Those are:
Update: Biswarup Basu in an IRFCA posting pointed out that based on the current schedule this train is competitive with the 8005/06 Koraput-Howrah Express; 1 hr 5 minutes faster towards Howrah and 15 minutes slower in the other direction. So many may not mind traveling end-to-end on this train. He thinks there is enough traffic to introduce a daily train in this route.
East Coast Railway is running eight pairs of a special train between Sambalpur and Howrah via Angul. Following is its schedule.
From end-to-end connectivity point of view the path taken by this train is longer than the regular Sambalpur-Rourkela-HWH path.
However, this train would give a direct connection between Howrah and places like Angul, Talcher and Dhenkanal. A train in this route with different times and more stops could also provide direct and useful connection between Sambalpur/Redhakhol/Angul/Talcher/Dhenkanal and Jajpur Rd/Bhadrakh/Balasore. Perhaps ECOR is exploring a regular train in this route.
Following is an excerpt from a report in TimesofIndia.
The Union government is planning to develop such parks in the state with state-of-the-art infrastructure for the plastic industry and if everything works out according to plan, Balasore will have the country’s first such park. Inspired by the success of software technology parks across the nation, the Centre is planning to set up these parks, which will provide raw materials, power and land for plastic companies.
Moreover, the companies will also be helped to market their products. These parks are expected to generate huge direct and indirect employment. A technical team led by Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology director general S K Nayak, was recently here to survey the feasibility of the project. "We held a meeting with local industrialists who were given a broad idea about the plastic park and its facilities. The response was good. We will submit a report to the Union government and later have a discussion with the state government for land and other facilities. At least 250 acres of land is required for the project," said Nayak.
According to sources, Balasore, which is known as the plastic hub of the state, has about 42 plastic companies with a combined turnover of more than Rs 200 crore. While all the companies come under the small scale industry category, the range of products include plastic pipes, pipe fittings, furniture, woven sack bags, polythene bags and sheets and general moulded items.
"As plastic has become an integral part of everyday life, the Centre is planning the park, which would house at least 100 companies. Existing industries can shift their units to the park and new units can also be set up. Since several facilities are being offered at the park, it will attract new entrepreneurs. We are excited to have the park in the region," Balasore Chamber of Industries and Commerce president Himanshu Das said. "The park will promote development and growth of the plastic industry. It will provide land and efficient power supply at subsidised rate. There will be a bank, common raw material depot, testing centre, common tool room for maintenance and finally an effective marketing system within the park," he said.
This apart, the government of Orissa is also planning to start a "plastic cluster" at Balasore. The Union government has already approved 14 clusters out of 20 notified by the state government for Central assistance.
"Two proposals – one plastic cluster at Balasore and another engineering cluster at Mancheswar have been sent to the Union government for assistance under Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme. Each of these units will avail Rs 60 crore under the scheme," said an official. The team also visited some unutilized government buildings built at the cost of Rs 4.5 crore at Baliapal during the late 80s. The structures were built on around 150 acres of land under the rehabilitation package during the proposed National Test Range which was stalled in 1992 due to vehement opposition.
"We are planning to start the technical training institute here. …
Kudos to Balasore MP and MOS Srikant Jena for playing a major behind the scenes role on this. Now if only Hemanada Biswal, the chair of the labor committee which has a MOS rank, would show similar leadership with respect to Sundergarh and Rourkela.
Following is an excerpt from a release by the Resident Commissioner of Orissa:
Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa met Shri Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry at New Delhi and discussed various issues pertaining to development of Industry Clusters and handicrafts in Orissa.
… The Union Minister also agreed to the proposal of the State Government for providing infrastructure support for development of industrial clusters under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) of GoI for the clusters located at Balasore (Plastic Products Cluster) at a project cost of Rs 62.50 crore and another at Mancheswar (Engineering Cluster) at a project cost of Rs 61crore. He complimented the State Government for smooth implementation of the Metallurgical Cluster Project in Jajpur (Kalinganagar) which has already been sanctioned for Orissa under the IIUS.
Following is from Samaja:
In the following Business standard reports on progress on the proposed Aluminum park in Angul.
The proposed aluminium park of the public sector National Aluminium Company (Nalco) at Angul in Orissa, which was mired in uncertainty, is finally set to see the light of the day.
The proposed venture will be set up jointly by Nalco and the state owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco). The two partners are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard soon.
Sources said, Nalco and Idco will have equal stake in the project. …
“All the contentious issues have been resolved and the terms and conditions of the draft MoU have been agreed upon by both the partners. The signing of the MoU is a matter of technical formalities”, a senior official of the state industry department told Business Standard.
Sources said, the MoU will be signed by the end of this month and the chief minister Naveen Patnaik will lay the foundation stone for the project in the first week of September. The proposed park will come up adjacent to the existing smelter plant of Nalco at Angul.
The complex will house various downstream and ancillary aluminium industries. Though it was originally planned to develop the project over 200 acres, it has been decided to acquire 50 to 100 acres more to increase the size of the park. This will take care of the future growth requirement and creation of some social infrastructure.
… Sources said, the cost of developing the land in the park will be borne by Nalco and Idco equally and this will be recovered from the units which will come up in the park. An innovative pricing structure is proposed to be put in place for this.
The aluminium park, once fully developed, is expected to attract investment of Rs 300 to 400 crore. It may be noted, the project passed through uncertainty as the state government was earlier reluctant to join the project as a joint venture partner.
Following is from a report in Telegraph.
Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Group is close to getting an approval from the Orissa government to build a port for its 10-million-tonne steel plant in Bengal.
The group has pitched for 4 out of the 12 bids offered by the Orissa government to investors for developing a port in the state.
Information trickling in from the government indicate that JSW may get the approval to build a port in Baleshwar district on the Bengal-Orissa border, south of Digha.
The port will cater to the upcoming steel plants in Bengal and Jharkhand.
Biswadip Gupta, joint managing director of JSW Bengal Steel Ltd, said the port would be closer to the project site than Haldia. “It will be about 110 km from our plant at Salboni in West Midnapur compared with a distance of 130 km from Haldia,” he said.
Note that there has been interest from others on a port in Kirtania. In particular, Creative ports signed an MOU about a port in Kirtania with Orissa government in 2006. Is JSW talking about a port in Kirtania or between Kirtania and Digha?
I believe that for Orissa to develop several urban centers and clusters need to be developed. So far many are developing. The ones marked with red are either developed or are in the path of development. The one in purple (Keonjhar) has a good chance of development. The three green ones in the big green zone, denoting Bhwanipatna, Balangir and Phulbani are in need of development. The following table lists what these various urban areas and clusters have or are going to have and what they don’t have and the govt. should make efforts to fulfill those lacunae.
| Urban- clusters | Univs | Medical Colleges | Rail con. | Empl. venues | Needs | Notes |
|
Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Khurda (1.6 million) |
Many | Many | Good | Many |
International airport |
|
| Rourkela | NIT, BPUT | No | Good | Many |
Airport, Talcher- Bimlagarh , Comp. University
|
|
| Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur | BU | MKCG | Good | Many | Upgrade MKCG to AIIMS | |
| Sambalpur – Burla – Hirakud | SU | VSS | Good | Many | Make UCE a unitary university | |
| Puri- Vedanta University | SJU, Vedanta University planned | Vedanta University Medical College is planned | Good | Many | ||
| Paradeep- Kujanga | None | None | Good |
Port, POSCO, PCPIR |
University, Medical College | |
| Dhamara- Chandabali | None | None | In constr | Port (in constr), Shipyard | University, Medical College | |
| Vyasanagar- Kalinganagar | None | None | Good | Many | University, Medical College | |
| Jharsuguda- Belpahar – Brajarajnagar | None | None | Good | Many | University, Medical College, Airport | |
| Angul- Talcher – Nalconagar | None | MCL plans a medical college | Good | Many | University | |
| Balasore- Chandipur | FMU | None | Good | some | Medical College, Develop industry | |
| Koraput- Sunabeda- Jeypore – Damanjodi | Central University | None | Good | Many | Medical College | |
| Rayagada- Therubali | None | None | Good | Many | University, Medical College | |
| Baripada- Similipal | NOU | None | So-so | some |
Medical College, Chakulia- Buramara rail connectivity |
|
| Keonjhar | None | None | Good | expected | University, Medical College, Upgrade OSME | Hope Arcelor Mittal’s plan works out |
| Bhawanipatna – Kesinga – Junagarh – Vedanta Nagar – Lanjigarh Rd | None | None | In the works | expected | University, Medical College | Hope Vedanta establishes a good township here |
| Balangir | None | None | so-so | very little | University, Medical College, Needs more industries | Govt. need to FOCUS. |
| Phulbani | None | None | NONE | very little | University, Medical College, Lanjigarh Rd – Phulbani – Angul line needed asap, more industries | Govt. need to FOCUS. |
| Bhadrakh | None | None | Good | some | In between Kalinganagar & Balasore | Train to branch off to Dhamara here |
| Joda – Badbil | None | None | Ok | mines | University, Medical College, | Trains to BBSR needed |
| Parlakhemundi | None | None |
In Constr |
very little | University, Medical College, | JITM |
As noted above, all these places should have a university, a medical college, good rail connectivity and several job centers.
Following is excerpted from a report in tathya.in. The various projects that were cleared are:
Following is an excerpt from a news item in odisha.in on this.
World Tourism Organisation (WTO), a United Nations body has expressed its interest to develop the coastline from Chandipur to Balaramgadi as a tourist resort of international standard.
Recently, a seven member expert team of WTO headed by James Craig Jessamine has visited the 3 km beach to examine its potential for growth and marketing.
Maintaining it as one of the world’s best tourist sites, the expert team has stressed on immediate steps to arrest coastal erosion, besides development of the beach site.
The WTO members included tourism infrastructure specialist Samuel E Sapuay, Thomas Fletcher, Richardian Batchelor, KVS Menon, Bez Beoura and BN Mishra also discussed the matter with government officers, NGOs and hoteliers after visiting the site.
"Considering Chandipur as base point for coastal development, the team put forth a plan to erect one tourist resort of international standard over 200 acres of land between the Panthaniwas and Balaramgadi," said ADM Sribatsa Jena, who accompanied the team.
… Of the 480-km coastline in Orissa, the golden beach of Chandipur in Balasore district has a unique characteristic of its own. …
It is the only beach where the seawater recedes more than five km everyday and return rhythmically after a regular interval – a phenomenon seldom found anywhere else. It’s like magic when one can see the sea literally vanishing before his own eyes and coming back as if playing hide and seek with the beholder."This uniqueness has attracted WTO to develop it as a tourist resort of world class," said Balasore Collector Alekh Chandra Padhiary.
The Collector said that with an assistance of Rs 2.06 crore from government of India the tourism department has started preliminary work for the development of Chandipur beach. …
The Hindu has a nice short travelogue on driving on the GQ from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar in 5 hours.
(Thanks to Jibanendra babu for noticing the article and mentioning it in the Orissa Today group.)
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