Following up on our earlier article, Odisha must push for an ISMU branch. The logic behind Assam getting an RGIPT branch is that Assam has a lot of petroleum related oil wells and refineries. By the same logic, Odisha tops the states in India with respect to its mineral output. Following is from a report in Business Standard.
With minerals produced in the state in 2009-10 valued at Rs 15,317 crore, Orissa has 13.10 percent share of the total value of minerals produced by major states in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh (7.70 percent), Andhra Pradesh (7.21 percent), Maharashtra (4.92 percent), Gujarat (4.65 percent), Karnataka (3.96 percent), Tamil Nadu (3.21 percent), Rajasthan (2.99 percent), Assam (2.96 percent), West Bengal (2.78 percent).
According to the Economic Survey report (2010-11), the value of minerals extracted in Orissa has gone up by more than four times from Rs 3694 crore to Rs 15,317 crore between 2002-03 and 2009-10 coinciding with the boom in the mineral market during this period.
Orissa boasts of 95 percent of country’s chromite deposit, 92 percent of nickel ore, 55 percent of bauxite and 33 percent of iron ore. Besides, the state has substantial quantity of other minerals and ores like coal, manganese, dolomite, graphite and limestone.
With the iron ore prices spiraling, this commodity naturally leads the pack of minerals in terms of production and value. The state produced 79.7 million tonnes of iron ore in 2009-10 valued at Rs 7976 crore. This is followed by coal (105.5 million tonnes valued at Rs 5548 crore and chromite (3.4 million tonne valued at Rs 1167 crore).
Similarly, iron ore constituted 95.4 percent of the total exports of minerals from the state. About 15 million tonnes of iron ore was exported in 2009-10 valued at Rs 4224 core compared to exports of 0.46 million tonnes of chrome ore valued at Rs 464 crore and 0.25 million tonnes of mineral sand valued at Rs 72.32 crore.
One of the disturbing factors highlighted by the report is that with mining and quarrying sector gradually shifting to labour saving and capital-intensive technology, the total employment in the sector has been decreasing over the years. As a result, the number of direct employment in the mineral sector in Orissa has come down from 55764 in 2005-06 to 43705 in 2009-10.
It may be noted, with mineral deposits mostly occurring in the tribal belt of the state, this sector employs substantial number of tribals.
When ISM was made in Dhanbad, that region was perhaps the leader in mineral output (mainly coal) in the country. Odisha with a variety of minerals needs an ISM branch and we must push for it hard.
Related to that recently the Chief Minister has been concerned about the coal block allocation in Odisha. Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times on that.
Orissa government has taken strong exception to the coal ministry’s unilateral decision to allot coal blocks without consulting the state.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh urging him to review the allocation of coal blocks in Orissa. The coal ministry has allotted 32 coal blocks with an estimated reserve of about 15,000 million tons to 56 private and government agencies.
Mr Patnaik made it clear that a comprehensive regional master plan should have been prepared prior to allotment of huge number of coal mines in inhabited and environmentally sensitive areas in the state. Focus has to be given for infrastructure development, logistic planning, land requirements, rehabilitation and resettlement, environment impact studies and mitigation measures, the letter said.
Expressing serious concerns over the adverse environmental impact in post operationalisation of such a large number of coal blocks, Mr Patnaik pointed out that coal mining would cause deforestation and air pollution. Sources close to CM’s officer said, the letter also had pointed out that it might not be possible for the state to accommodate new coal mines by jeopardizing its environmental stability. The coal ministry needs to be advised to take a pragmatic and planned approach, keeping the interests and concerns of all stake holders including the state government in mind, the letter said.
For making the 32 coal blocks functional, 325 sq km shall have to be acquired within few years and another equivalent amount of land would be needed for allied activities like coal handling plants, siding, workshop, and residential colonies for project affected people, compensatory afforestation and other infrastructural facilities including roads.
This would lead to massive displacement and consequent socio-economic and environmental crisis, the chief minister is understood to have stated in his missive to the PM. However, such large-scale land acquisition and displacement could be avoided if coal blocks are allotted and developed in a planned and phased manner, Naveen added.
Incidentally, Orissa is already on the throes of severe climate change due to setting up of huge number of coal fired power plants threatening the livelihood of farmers and fishermen who form 70 % of the state’s population shall be severely hit due to irregular monsoons and erratic rainfall patterns.
Most of the power produced shall be transmitted to other states while the people of the state shall be the unwilling victims of the effects on climate change and pollution caused by the huge quantities of green house gases (GHGs) and fly ash generated.
“Coal mining is done either underground or open cast. In Orissa mostly open cast mining is done. When coal surfaces are exposed, pyrite (iron sulfide), comes in contact with water and air forming sulfuric acid. As water drains from the mine, the acid moves into the waterways, and as long as rain falls on the mine tailings the sulfuric acid production continues, whether the mine is still operating or not. Proper and holistic environmental protection measures are not taken by the owners of coal mines”, former director general of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR] and currently, chairman, Institute of Advance Technology and Environmental Studies (IATES), P. K. Jena on Thursday told “The ET”.
This reinforces our thought that the civil society andthe government of Odisha must together push for an ISMU campus in Odisha that will specialize in all the issues mentioned above.
Please add aditional pointers in the comment section. As soon as the Malkangiri sutiation gets resolved we will start a movement to get an ISMU campus to Odisha.
February 21st, 2011
(Thanks to Kalahandia for the pointer.)
Apparently the second campus of RGIPT in Assam was announced by the PM in August 2008. Somehow we missed it. Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday laid the foundations of the National Institute of Design (NID) and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (Assam centre) in Jorhat and Sivasagar districts respectively.
Addressing a gathering in Sivasagar, Singh said, "It is befitting that the institute has been named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, our beloved leader and former Prime Minister of India. His contribution to modernization and development of our country was immense. He believed that the application of science and technology was critical to our development process."
He added that the institute, which will be a world class establishment in the petro-chemical sector, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 148 crore from central funds. "The place will offer degree, diploma and certificate courses to unemployed youths of the state. It will also provide special research on a particular subject," he said.
The Prime Minister added that the institute’s academic year will start from August this year. He said it was a centre of the main institute at Rae Barelly and its main objective was to promote capacity building in competency related to the domain of hydro carbon sector.
Using the same logic Odisha should push for a second campus of the Indian School of Mines University in one of the mining hubs of Odisha.
As far as NID is concerned the previous Commerce minister Kamal Nath had many times mentioned Odisha as a possibility; however because of our mistakes (see here, here and here) we lost it. I hope we learn from our mistakes.
In general there are several institutions we should target for the 12th plan. See https://www.orissalinks.com/archives/5859 for an initial list. However, if one were to prioritize, a campus of ISMU will have the highest monetary value; as these days ISMU is almost as good as an IIT and has most of the disciplines that an IIT has. ISMU Dhanbad currently has a faculty size of 170. Its budget for 2009-2010 was 128 crores (= 85 plan + 43 non-plan) and for 2010-2011 was 122.47 (=89 plan + 33.47 non-plan) crores. In comparison, the 2010-11 budget for the 7 old IITs were a total of 1600 (= 774 plan+ 826 non-plan ) crores and the 2010-11 budget for the 20 old NITs were a total of 1317.51 (= 810 plan + 507.51 non-plan) crores. So ISM’s budget (122.47 crores) lies between the average NIT budget (65 crores appx) and average IIT budget (228.5 crores).
February 20th, 2011
Berhampur:
- Gandhi Institute of Industrial Technology Berhampur (GII) Pvt.
- Kalam Institute of Technology, Berhampur Berhampur (KIB) Pvt.
- National Institute of Science and Technology Palur Hills, Berhampur (NST) Pvt.
- Roland Institute of Technology Surya Vihar, Berhampur (RIT) Pvt.
- Sanjaya Memorial Institute of Technology Chandipadar, Berhampur (SMT) Pvt.
- Vignan Institute of Technology & Management Berhampur (VIT) Pvt.
- IIIT Berhampur (planned)
- Parla Maharaj Engineering College (planned)
- Rahul Institute of Engineering & Technology Thatadapalli Village, Kotharsing (P.O.) Konisi Tahasil, Berhampur, Ganjam (D. T.) Orissa (planned)
Rourkela-Sundergarh:
- Padmanava College of Engineering Rourkela (PCE) Pvt.
- Purushottam Institute of Engineering & Technology Mandiakudar, Rourkela (PIE) Pvt.
- Sundargarh Engineering College sundargarh (SUN) Pvt.
- NIT Rourkela
- Rourkela Institute of Technology At P.O. Kuarmunda, District : Sundergarh Pin 770039 Orissa (planned)
Balasore-Bhadrakh:
- Balasore College of Engineering & Technology Balasore (BCE) Pvt.
- Bhadrak Institute of Engineering & Technology Barapada, Bhadrak (BIT) Pvt.
- Modern Engineering & Management Studies Balasore (MEM) Pvt.
- Satyasai Engineering College Balasore (SAT) Pvt.
- Vijayanjali Institute of Technology At Gadabhanga No. 4 P.O. Khantapara, District : Balasore 756043 Orissa (planned)
Gunupur-Rayagada:
- Gandhi Institute of Engineering & Technology Gunupur (GIT) Pvt.
- Gandhi Institute of Science and Technology Rayagada (GIR) Pvt.
- Institute of Advanced Computer & Research Rayagada (IAC) Pvt.
- Majhighariani Institute of Technology and Science Rayagada (MIT) Pvt.
Sambalpur-Baragarh-Jharsuguda:
- Black Diamond College of Engineering & Technology Jharsuguda (BDC) Pvt.
- Padmashree Krutartha Acharya College of Engineering Bargarh (PKA) Pvt.
- University College of Engineering Burla (UCE) Govt.
Angul-Talcher:
- Indira Gandhi Institute of Technology Sarang (IGT) Govt.
- Adarsha College of Engineering At Saradhapur, P.O. Kumurisingha Dist : Angul, Pin 759122 Orissa (planned)
Koraput-Jeypore:
- Gopal Krushna College of Engineering & Technology Jeypore (GCE) Pvt.
- Samanta Chandra Sekhar Institute of Technology & Management Semiliguda, Koraput (SCS) Pvt.
Others:
- Jagannath Institute of Technology & Management Paralakhemundi (JIP) Pvt.
- Orissa School of Mining Engineering Keonjhar (OSM) Govt.
- Seemanta Engineering College Jharpokharia, Mayurbhanj (SEC) Pvt.
August 3rd, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a recent report in Telegraph.
The Jharkhand-based Indian School of Mines University — premier Union government institute on par with IIMs and IIT — is looking beyond the state.
The mines school started in 1926 on the lines of Royal School of Mines in England claimed that an indifferent attitude of the government apparently forced it to open an extension centre at Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh.
The Union human resource department has given its nod for the project.
“The MP government is ready to provide us about 50 acres. ISM would be opening a mining centre and clean coal technology centre there. It would take a few more years before the extension centre starts regular engineering, management and other courses,” said P.S. Gupta, ISM dean, students’ welfare.
Now consider this earlier news.
The HRD ministry has snowballed the plan of IITs to open new campuses. The first to be hit are the top three IITs of the country at – Delhi, Mumbai and Kharagpur.
In a policy directive, the HRD ministry has rejected the idea of opening satellite campuses in places far off from the main campus, citing huge costs involved. The decision was taken after number of IITs approached the HRD ministry seeking its views on opening new campuses.
While IIT Delhi was formulating a plan for Gurgaon, the proposal of IIT Mumbai for Gujarat and IIT Kharagpur for Bhubaneswar have already been rejected by the HRD ministry. "We are against the concept of opening satellite campuses as it may dilute the standard of education in premier institutes like IITs," a senior ministry official told HT.
IIT Kharagpur, which has a small campus functioning in Bhubaneswar, offering post-graduate diplomas, wanted the ministry’s permission to expand the existing campus and convert it into satellite campus offering undergraduate courses. Even Orissa Chief Minister Navin Pathnaik had written to the HRD minister Arjun Singh requesting a IIT in Orissa or providing full-fledged IIT like facilities in the existing campus to improve higher education in the state.
January 9th, 2008