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Following is an excerpt from a report in sify.com. (This report is reasonable; the tall claims about making Naraj like Jamshedpur is reported in Sambada, which is given at the end of the excerpt.)

Optimistic about completion of land acquisition for its 1,000 MW power plant near Cuttack in five months, Tata Power has allayed fears that it may cause air, water and noise pollution and said the thermal unit would adopt latest environmental safety technology.

"We expect the whole process of land acquisition for the Naraj Marthapur coal-based power project to be completed by October, this year," Project Director (eastern region) of Tata Power, Praveer Sinha said.

Maintaining that the company was for fair and just compensation for land, structures and trees, Sinha, who visited the proposed plant site with other company officials, said price for land would be settled through ‘direct win-win negotiations with sellers’.

Rates offered would be higher than benchmark rates fixed by Orissa government, Sinha and other company officials pointed out, adding most advanced technologies would be used in the Rs 5,000-crore project to minimise plant emission.

… Ruling out any adverse impact on the air quality of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar due to the plant, he said water spraying would be undertaken in coal yard area to suppress the dust, while high efficiency electrostatic precipitator would be installed for removal of fly as from the flue gas.

"All these measures would keep emission of ash and coal dust to well below the statutory norms," a senior official at Tata Power’s Jamshedpur plant said, adding flue gas would be released through 275 metre tall stack, three times taller than Qutub Minar.

Explaining the steps to check water pollution, Sinha said fly ash generated from the plant would be stored within the plant premises and it would not be dumped into Mahanadi river or Puri canal.

Fly ash, said another senior executive, would be directly utilised by the cement industry, brick manufacturing, road and pavement construction, fertilisers and for bund preparation in farms. "Therefore, the quality of water in Puri canal or Mahanadi river or Puri canal will not be affected and will not impact marine life at all," he said.

Similarly, he said waste water generated from the plant would be reused within the plant and discharge, if any, was likely to take place only during rainy season when excess water is available.

"Such water will be discharged only after treatment of effluents and its quality will comply with the applicable effluents standards," he said.

Sinha said steps would be taken to ensure that no pollutant material is discharged into the river. Ash would not pollute ground water due to impervious lining of the ash pond into which the ash would be disposed.

Ruling out noise pollution due to the power unit, company officials also made it clear that the machinery and equipment would meet all the national standards of noise limits.

Further, thick green belt would be developed around the project site to minimise the impacts of noise created by transport of coal by railways. Around two lakh trees would be planted in the green belt to absorb dust and noise.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in howrah.org.

Union tourism minister Ambika Soni has identified 20 top tourist destinations in the country, with an eye on wooing the potential foreign and domestic tourists. Under this new initiative, financial assistance up to Rs 25 crores would be provided for development of a mega destination and Rs 50 crore for a mega circuit. Apart from this financial assistance, ministry of tourism is also working with other Central ministries and concerned state governments to achieve convergence and synergy with other government programmes, so that the impact of investment on these destinations is maximised. Ms Ambika Soni’s policy initiative is aimed at developing tourist destinations/circuits of national importance in a holistic and integrated manner. The objective is to ensure that the infrastructure of these mega destinations/circuits is developed to the extent that it can cater to the future tourist inflows so that visitors get a satisfying and memorable experience.

… So far 20 such destinations/circuits have been identified in consultation with the state governments on the basis of data indicating potential arrivals.

These include: Taj in Agra (UP), Varanasi-Sarnath (UP), Bodh Gaya-Rajgir-Nalanda (Bihar), illumination of monuments in Delhi, Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu), Puri-Bhubaneshwar-Konarak-Chilka Lake (Orissa), Haridwar-Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) etc.

For identified destinations/circuits covered by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, convergence of resources is being ensured so that the tourism related infrastructure and urban civic infrastructure complement each other.

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

An environment regulatory committee set up by the Supreme Court has recommended a stringent mechanism for granting mining lease to Sterlite Industries, the parent company of the London-based Vedanta Alumina Ltd, to mine bauxite from the eco-sensitive Niyamgiri hill area for its proposed Rs 4,000 crore aluminium project in Orissa.

As against the plea by the Sterlite India, the Central Empowered Committee suggested that the majority 51% share in the special purpose vehicle — ‘Lanjigarh Scheduled Area Development Foundation’ — should be with the Orissa government and 24.5% each should be with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite.

The Sterlite had suggested that its own share should be 49%, while the Orissa government and OMC should hold 26% and 25%, respectively.

A bench of chief justice K G Balakrishnan, justices Arijit Pasayat and H S Kapadia directed Sterlite and the Orissa government to file affidavits on the formation and constitution of the special purpose vehicle.

…
Sterlite has sought direction from the court to accord clearance of the forest diversion proposal submitted by Orissa Mining Corporation for diversion of 660.749 hectare of forest land to undertake bauxite mining on Niyamgiri Hills in Lanjigarh for its Rs 4,500 crore Alumina plant in Orissa.

Sterlite has agreed to give 5% of the annual profits before tax and interest from the Lanjigarh project, consisting of bauxite mining and alumina refinery, or Rs 10 crore per year, whichever is higher, to the Foundation every year from April 1, 2007.

Sterlite also said it would make a payment of the net present value (NPV) of Rs 55 crore and Rs 50.3 crore towards wildlife management plan for conservation and management of wildlife around the Lanjigarh mine and Rs 12.2 crore towards development for the tribal people.

The committee said there has to be a balance between conservation and development. “The balance between these two would thus lie in permitting conservation not merely for private profit but in a manner that maximises the public interest component in the activity,’’ it said. …

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

Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has planned to set up an international convention centre through a public-private partnership model. BK Patel, head (SEZ & Infrastructure Projects) at IDCO, said, "The convention centre will be spread over 25 acres in tie-up with private developers. We have started inviting tenders for the project and expect to reach a decision to begin the project in the coming months."

The convention centre is to be built at a whopping Rs 500 crore and expected to be completed in the next three years. 

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pragativadi.

… the new Director of Posco-India, Yong Keun Kim, is however, optimistic about his plans for downstream industries.

… His recent meeting with IPICOL managing director, Ashok K Meena, has unfolded the road map of Posco on downstream and ancillary industries.

Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, he said that Posco’s greenfield project near Paradip would create enormous opportunities for developing ancillary and downstream units close to the steel plant.

Some of the units that are likely to come up, include automobiles, shipbuilding, fishing vessel, heavy fabrication and downstream heat and coil processing, reveals the document.

There is a vast scope of indirect employment opportunity once the ancillary industries are set up in the area, the document says.

Posco has requested the state government for a piece of land near Paradip to set up the facilities.

A detailed project report (DPR) is being prepared by the company, in which investors from South Korea would join for setting up downstream and ancillary projects.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard. The six suggestions are:

• taking up entry point activity,
• providing employment to the affected and the displaced persons,
• promotion of local employment to the extent possible,
• initiative for protection of environment,
• enthusing and engaging the people and
• empathising with the local people.

… Tripathy said, the steel units have been advised to take up various entry point activities to fill the infrastructural gap in their area of operation.

Similarly, they also need to take care of employment of the project affected and the displaced persons either through setting up Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) or through adoption of the existing ITIs in the state.

It will help those units to meet their requirement of skilled man power in the trades they require. The industries have further been advised to promote local employment to the maximum extent possible.

He said, the industries have been told to take up afforestation and ensure protection of social and economic environment. Efforts will have to be made for enthusing and involving the people in the industrialisation process to attain the objective of inclusive development.

Besides, the industrial units will have to empathise with the local people considering them as stakeholders in the industrialisation process. To further supplement these efforts the industries need to educate and empower the local people so that they can get jobs on merit.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is exploring the possibility of setting up a greenfield aluminium smelter and captive power plant near Jharsuguda, western Orissa at an investment of more than Rs 14,000 crore.

The capacity of the proposed smelter is pegged at 5 lakh tonnes per annum with a captive generation facility of 1,250 mw. The alumina required for the project is likely to be sourced from Nalco’s existing refinery at Damanjodi.

Engineer’s India (EIL), which has been appointed the consultant, has found the project technically feasible.

Jharsuguda is being chosen as the possible site for the plant as it is in the vicinity of the IB valley coal reserves. While the company has the required technology, land acquisition is expected to be trouble-free as most part of the identified patch is government land and barren.

… "Yes, we have plans to set up a smelter and captive power plant in Jharsuguda to add about 9 lakh tonne alumina capacity which is exported annually now. The project’s fate does not hinge on the availability of water," B L Bagra, director (finance), Nalco, told Business Standard.

Meanwhile, the state-owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa (Ipicol) has forwarded the company’s application for water from IB river to the water resources department.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business standard.

Global steel major ArcelorMittal, who is proposing to set up a 12 million tonne greenfield steel plant at Patna tehsil in Keonjhar district of Orissa, plans to spend about $300 million (about Rs 1,200 crore) on rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R). …

ArcelorMittal has presented its R&R plan to the Keonjhar district administration. It plans to spend the earmarked amount over a period of more than five years.

"We plan to spend about $300 million for the R&R plan over a period of more than five years. The R&R plan has already been submitted to the Orissa government," ArcelorMittal India chief executive officer (CEO) Sanak Misra said.

After meeting Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik along with Sudhir Maheshwari and Vijay Bhattanagar, the members of ArcelorMittal’s group management board, in the state secretariat today, Misra told the media that their steel plant will come up in two phases of 6 million tonne each. He said the R&R plan of the company was in conformity with the R&R policy of the Orissa government.

The plan envisages dwelling units for each of the displaced family with common facilities. The rehabilitation colonies will have water supply, educational institutions and primary health centres (PHCs).

As per the R&R plan, the company will set up a state-of-the-art industrial training institute (ITI) beside the steel plant. It is in discussion with three leading institutes of the country having previous experience in handling ITIs.

The model, including student strength and the cost of setting up of the ITI, is being worked out. Misra, however, made it clear that the ITI would come up before the commissioning of the plant. The company was in discussion with the state government for the required land, he said.

Official sources said, the company planned to apply the highest standards of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the Orissa project and intended to make the R&R policy the backbone of the CSR strategy.

Misra said a detail project report (DPR), prepared by M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd (Dasturco), was being finalised. It would be submitted in June, 2008, he added.

The DPR includes captive mining facilities, captive power supply, water supply infrastructure and other required facilities. It also includes setting up of townships for the company’s employees.

The ArcelorMittal CEO also expressed his satisfaction over the land acquisition, saying that it was making good progress.

The company had signed an MoU with the Orissa government in December 2006 for setting up a steel plant at an investment of about Rs 40,000 crore.

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.

 

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

The District administration on Sunday formally issued a notification for the proposed Rs 45,000-crore ship building plant at Chardia on the banks of the Baitarani river mouth. Surendra Kumar Group of Companies (Ocean Sea port Company, Kolkota) is the promoter of the plant.

Sources said the company has deposited Rs 1 crore with the district administration for land acquisition to be done by IDCO. More than 939.36 acre of land is to be acquired. The Government has issued a notification under Section 4(1). Fiver villages of Chardia, Harispur, Rajendrapali, Kanakpali and Rajrajeshwarpali are going to be affected by the land acquisition said district land acquisition officer Suryakanta Padhi.

See also http://tathya.in/story.asp?sno=1800.

Following is from Dharitri.

The list from the article below are: (See also this and this.)

• POSCO SEZ in Paradeep: 4004 acres
• TATA SEZ in Gopalpur: 1173 acres
• Hindalco SEZ in Sambalpur: 855 acres
• Saraf Agencies SEZ for Titanium in Chhatrapur: 131.5 acres
• Wellspun garments SEZ in Choudwar: 200 acres
• Jindal SEZ in Choudwar: 400 acres
• Vedanta SEZ in Jharsuguda: 185.62 acres
• IDCO Knoweldge Park near Bhubaneswar: 600 acres
• Infocity in Bhubaneswar: 202 acres
• IDCO Mahakalpada area in Kendrapada district: 2700 acres

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37077.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval to the proposal to create Information Technology Investment Regions (ITIRs). These ITIRs would be endowed with excellent infrastructure and supported through investor-friendly policies. ITIRs were conceptualized keeping in view the need to boost the growth of both IT/ITES and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing (EHM) Units.

These regions would become major magnets for investment creating employment opportunities and economic growth in the area. Simultaneously, it will reduce the pressure on existing urban centers by enabling growth of new townships and dispersal of industry.

The regions would be a combination of IT/ITES and Electronics Hardware Manufacturing Units; Public uitilities, residential area, social infrastructure and administrative services. Such regions could include new integrated townships, SEZs, industrial parks etc. In the ITIR, there would be a clear delineation between the IT/ITES areas and Electronic Hardware Manufacturing areas. The ITIRs would generate direct and indirect employment during the construction and operational phases.

Each ITIR is expected to be a specificlly notified investment region with minimum area of 40 sq.kms. planned for IT/ITES and EHM Units. The minimum processing area will be 40% of the total area of the ITIR. The ITIRs will be developed in a phased manner.

The State Government would ensure that all physical infrastructure and utilities within its jurisdiction (power, water, roads, transportation, sewerage and effluent treatment facilities) are provided. The Central Government will facilitate development of National Highways, Airport and Rail links to the ITIRs.

The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route is advocated for the development of ITIRs. State Government will select the developers/co-developers through a transparent process.