___________

Following is a from a news item in tathya.in.

Tin project of the Koustuv Mining and Smelting Company (KMS) also received the nod of the Authority. 

KMS will set up tin smelting plant at Khurda and refinery at Malkangiri with an investment of Rs.95.61 crore. 

The company holds mining lease for 1116.830 hectares in tin ore rich area of Malkangiri.

Following is from odisha.in.

According to official sources, the SLSWCC has also cleared six other industrial project proposal, which include- Dev Alloys at, Jajpur, Ravi Metalik , Sambalpur, Kaustuv Mining  and  Smelter at Malkangir, Orissa Mining and Mineral Development Pvt Ltd, at Dhenkanal, S.L.Mining, Joda and ESSAR’s expansion proposal for its proposed Paradeep Steel project.

Following is an excerpt from a news item in tathya.in.

In 2005 the company entered memorandum of understanding (MOU) with state government to set up a 4 million tone per annum steel project at Paradeep. 

Now the company wanted to add another 2 million ton per annum capacity to the Greenfield project. 

The Authority cleared the proposal, which will be of Rs.9797.50 crore. 

So the Essar Steel will invest Rs.20518.50 crore in Orissa, said Mr.Dalwai.

Following is an excerpt from a news item in tathya.in.

The State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) has paved the way for the first shipyard project in Orissa. 

… Presenting the case Ashok Dalwai, Secretary Industries the project will provide jobs for 41,000 people. 

The Bharati Shipyard Limited (BSL), a major private shipyard and the Apeejay Surendra Group, an industrial conglomerate have joined hands to set up the-State-of-the-art shipbuilding yard and ship repair yard project at Dhamra in Orissa. 

The mega shipyard project will entail an investment of Rs.2200 crore in 3 phases. 

Easy availability of raw material like steel, large number of skilled, unskilled man power and above all the proactive government policies dotted with positive environment for investors are creating conducive atmosphere for a mega shipyard in the state.

The requirement of steel in shipbuilding and repairing has been projected as in the first phase it will be up to 75,000 MT per annum, while in second phase it will go up to 2,30,000 MT.

In the final phase the steel requirement will go up to 4, 50,000 MT said the source.

The proposed site has been identified near the Dhamra Port, where out of 1500 acres surveyed 1050 acre of land has been provisionally selected for the mega shipyard.

Milestones set up for the project envisages that Master Plan will be ready in the next year and construction of the shipyard will begin in mid of 2008. 

The Joint venture promoters feel that the project will complete its first phase construction in early 2009 to begin commercial production by middle of the year.

Odisha.in adds the following:

The company has also plans to set up an ITI neared to the project site to provide technical training to local youth to enable them to get related jobs in the project.

From http://myiris.com/shares/company/writeDet.php?icode=orispoir#rec:

Orissa Sponge Iron was incorporated in 1979. The company is promoted and managed by Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd and Torsteel Research Foundation India. The main Business Profile of Orissa Sponge Iron is sponge iron and steel billet.The company`s plant is located in Palaspanga in Orissa.

Following is a recent news item about this company.

Orissa Sponge Iron and Steel firmed its plan for setting up of a one million ton integrated steel plant, reports Business Line.

The company is also believed to have received environmental clearance for its iron ore mines. The estimated reserves of iron ore mine is 130 million tons said to be worth on a conservative basis over Rs 750 billion.

The company has also obtained coal mining lease in the Orissa worth over Rs 100 billion.

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

Announcing the formal operationalisation of this 120-bedded multi-specialty care hospital, one of its promoters Dr Ashok Acharya said, the centre would set new benchmarks in health care facilities in the State.

The hospital has earmarked 39 beds for critical care, in keeping with the prescribed national ratio. The hospital will have full time consultants in all super specialty branches along with two tier of senior and junior residents.

Besides, there will also be floor free operating theatres and ICUs. Dr Kamal Lochan Mohapatra, the other promoter of the hospital, informed that Ayush Hospital will have advanced radio diagnostics for 0.35 Telsa MRI units, multi detector CT scan, mammography, all kinds of video scopies besides a critical cardiac care ambulance.

While the hospital project took 18 months to be complete, the promoters are busy adding to its infrastructure.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Orissa Minerals Development Company (OMDC), operating under the direct administrative control of the Union Ministry of Steel, has announced that it was ready to supply iron ore to the companies which have signed MoUs with the Orissa Government for setting up of steel plants.

Chairman-cum-Managing Director of OMDC MS Barpanda said he had already conveyed his decision to the State’s Secretary Of Steel and Mines UP Singh.

… OMDC has six iron ore and manganese mines in Barabil area of Keonjhar. Barpanda had steadied the company which was reeling under allegations of embezzlement of funds under investigation of CBI.

He has now established contacts with the Orissa Government for renewal of mining leases and setting up of a palletisation plant in Orissa.

Barpanda, … added that OMDC under his dispensation had been finalising all contracts in a most transparent manner through open tender by advertisements in newspapers and e-auction process.

He further added that notwithstanding cancellation of the leases of two major mines by the Orissa Government production in OMDC had increased in volume, which only proves that all the remedial measures initiated by him had yielded results.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Pioneer.

Broadband services in the town and other parts of the district would soon be launched after standard tests, said SM Talwar, chief general manger, Telecom, (CGMT) Orissa circle.

Following are extracted from a report in the Pioneer.

• the State Commerce and Transport Department, in its sanction order-29753, dated May 30, 1970, had allotted 3, 793.21 acres in the first phase and 2285.23 acres in the second phase to the Paradip Port Project. Most of the lands were obtained from Sandhakuda, Bijayachandrapur, Balijhari and Bhitaragara villages, under Kujang Tehsil. According to the official sources, about 6,889 acres of land were supplied to the Paradip Port Trust.
• The State Government had provided 62.19 acres of land to the Paradeep Phosphate Ltd, which is a fertiliser plant that started its project in 1982. The PPL had acquired 405 acres of private lands from Bhitaragada village on its own.
• … in Paradeep-Cuttack railway line 137 acres of land were acquired from the Bhitaragada village.
• Kujang Tehsil had about 1,500 acres of Government land in the Musadiha area that was provided to the Oswal Fertiliser Plant in the year 1995-96. The plant had also purchased about 500 acres of private land from the local people.
• … in 2000 Indian Oil Corporation had purchased 3,300 acres of private land from the local people of 17 villages for its refinery project, which was to be set up on the outskirts of Paradip but the project is yet to come.
• for much-hyped Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Project, widening of the NH-5 and recent expansion of Cuttack-Paradip State Highway, thousands of acres of both Government and private lands have been acquired from Kujang Tehsil.
• Essar, the 6 million tonnes steel plant project, moves for the land acquisition in Paradip and the project needs about 1,950 acres of land. The State Government has already given 350 acres of land to the plant. It will procure the remaining required land from private land.
• Posco has shown a demand of about 4,004 acres of land in Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon villages for its steel plant and port project. The State Government has given assurance and has provided Posco most of the encroached Government and forestlands. The rest of the required land would be purchased from private landowners.

Following is an excerpt from a news report in Pioneer.

Ansupa, Orissa’s largest fresh water lake, 70 km from here, is set to be revived at a cost of Rs 6.41 crore. The Finance Commission is funding the first phase of the project, during which the lake’s silt load is being removed.

… Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy said the State Government aimed at bringing back both aquatic life and tourists to Ansupa. An existing channel would be revived to facilitate entry of water and trees would be planted on the banks of the lake to check soil erosion, he said, adding that development of ecotourism was an integral part of the project.

The lake previously used to boast of a picture perfect setting between Saranda and Bishnupur hills on the outskirts of the sub-divisional town of Athgarh and was home to migratory birds in winter. It, however, suffered a slow death due to severe erosion around its catchment area, silting and proliferation of algae and hyacinth plants. The lake’s depth has now been reduced to 10 feet from the original 40 feet.

The revival project, being implemented by the District Rural Development Agency, Cuttack, under the Ansupa Area Development Scheme, aims at reopening of the Kabulanala channel on the lake’s south-east side, which used to link it with the Mahanadi till an embankment was constructed on the river a decade back. The floodwaters used to enter the lake from the south-eastern side through the channel and flush out the weeds through a stream, Hulhullanala, which runs into the Mahanadi on the south-western side.

The proposed opening of the channel would revive the natural process of de-weeding as the embankment stalled this natural process and the water entering into the lake could not get released. The heavy silting had set in due to the soil erosion from Saranda hill on the lake’s western side and Bishnupur hill on its north-eastern side due to deforestation. Besides, conversion of the silted area into paddy fields worsened the situation.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard. (Thanks to Deba Nayak for the pointer.)

… The company had signed an memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government on December 2006. The port is proposed near the mouth of Subernarekha river and is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore.

According to state commerce minister Jaynarayan Misra, the company has made progress after the signing of the MoU. It has applied to the Centre for environmental clearance of the port project and has applied to the railway ministry for sanction of rail link.

However, the exact date of starting the construction work of the project can be known after the signing of the concession agreement, he said.

According to the provisions, the concession agreement needs to be signed within six months of the Mou. However, there has been a delay of about 4 months.

The company has sought 1,018 acre land for the port and 1,300 acres for the rail corridor. CPDPL will pay land premium as per the rates provided in the Industrial Policy Resolution-2007. However, the government is yet to provide any land to the company.

The minister said, the land acquisition for the project may not face much problem as the displacement of people will be minimal. Only eight families of the village Chaumukh will be displaced due to the project.

Official sources said, Kirtania port will come up on Build-Own-Operate-Share-Transfer (BOOST) mode. While the concession period will be 30 years, the government will have the power to extend it.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Indian Bank is set to open four more “Microsate” (a satellite branch for micro loans) branches across the country by the end of 2007, taking the total number to 12. These would come up in Bhubaneswar, New Delhi, Pune, and Bangalore.

The public sector bank was the first bank to introduce exclusive microcredit branches to provide credit to self-help groups (SHGs). It currently has eight exclusive microcredit branches, including the one opened in Chennai (second branch in the city) on Saturday.

According to MS Sundara Rajan, chairman and managing director, Indian Bank, so far 6,982 groups have been provided a credit of Rs 56.42 crore through Microsate branches, which also provide non-credit services like training, counselling and marketing besides catering to the credit needs of the urban poor.

“The bank has so far credit-linked over 2.30 lakh SHGs to the tune of Rs 1,545.48 crore. To meet the needs of the urban poor in Chennai, a Microsate branch was opened in May 2005 in Chetpet. The branch has so far covered over 101,000 families in Chennai. Consequently, six more branches were opened in Patna, Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Nadiad (Ahmedabad), Kollam (Kerala) and Kolkata during the first half of the current fiscal 2007-08,” he said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

… According to sources, the Haryana and Orissa governments have decided to put in place a policy making it mandatory for developers to employ a member from every family in a village affected by a SEZ project.

The Cabinet, in October, approved the National Policy on Rehabilitation & Resettlement, 2007, to replace the National Policy on Resettlement & Rehabilitation for Project-Affected Families, 2003. “The policy can incorporate minor changes, if needed, for the welfare of rural folk,” an official in the rural development ministry said.

A National Rehabilitation Commission would be set up by the Centre, which will be empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families.

To ensure transparency, there would be a provision for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information would also be placed in the public domain by the gram panchayats.

People would, however, be given jobs according to their qualifications. The government is of the view that salaries should at least match what an individual was earning before being displaced.

“We are also in the process of setting up a mechanism through which the affected communities would be duly informed and consulted at each stage, including public hearings in the affected areas for social impact assessment,” the official said.

Following is an excerpt from http://www.hemscott.com/news/latest-news/item.do?newsId=53878217759003. 

… India’s Supreme Court set new conditions for the project.

Vedanta’s battle to mine bauxite to feed the refinery in forests considered sacred by indigenous people has been seen as a test case in India, pitting industrial development against the interests of local inhabitants and the environment.

The Supreme Court refused to let the project in the eastern state of Orissa go ahead in its present form on the grounds that it could affect ‘sustainable development’ and asked Vedanta to come back with a new plan.

The court said Vedanta would have to give money for forest destruction, wildlife management and tribal development totalling around 180 mln usd.

Other conditions would include handing over 5 pct of pretax profits annually from its mining projects across India to the Orissa government.

Vedanta would also have to set up a ‘special purpose vehicle’ to ensure that environmental regulations were met, the court said.

Vedanta must file an interim application within eight weeks saying if it agreed to the conditions and the Supreme Court would reconsider the project, the court bench ruled.

Vedanta has been fighting for three years to obtain clearance for open cast mining of vast deposits of bauxite in the densely forested Niyamgiri hills to feed the 900 mln usd alumina refinery it has built nearby.

There was no immediate comment from Vedanta on the court ruling but it has in the past denied any wrongdoing and argued its projects would be welcomed by residents of the desperately poor region.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer that gives the first reaction from Vedanta officials in Orissa on the supreme court judgment.

Reacting to the judgment, vice-president of Vedanta Alumina Ltd AK Samal said the Supreme Court had reiterated its emphasis on sustainable development but has no objections in principle to mining at Niyamgiri. However, the court has stipulated certain conditions to be complied by the project proponent.

He said the apex court had desired that Sterlite Industries, the flagship company of Vedanta Resources PLC in India, duly enlisted on the Indian Stock Market be a part of the Special Project Vehicle (SPV) for mining at Niyamgiri and Scheduled area development at Lajigarh, where the company’s alumina refinery is located. "We will take all steps to immediately abide by the directions and conditions set out by the SC," he said, adding that the company was still waiting for a copy of the judgment.

Samal said his company was committed to the cause of the social uplift through reasonable industrialisation.

…. Secretary of the Orissa Wildlife Society Biswajit Mohanty, who had filed the petition against the Centre’s decision to allow Vedanta to set up its aluminum refinery and undertake mining activities, said the SC had taken note of their concern. On behalf of the Lok Abhiyan, noted activist Prafulla Samantray had also filed a petition before the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the SC.

The social activists filed the petition alleging that if Vedanta was allowed to undertake mining activities, the whole biosphere of Niyamgiri would be affected. The two major rivers, Bansadhara and Nagabali, which originate from the hill, would disappear. Thus it would affect the whole tribal population of the southern parts of the State, they argued.

Taking note of the serious allegation, the CEC had sent a two-member expert team (SK Chadda and SC Shrama) to make a spot inquiry. The team visited Niyamgiri in December 2004. It submitted its report in January 2005. Later, the CEC started the hearing of the petitions. The CEC visited Lanjigarh, where the plant is coming up. It submitted its report to the SC in September 2005, reportedly suggesting that Vedanta should not be allowed to take up mining activities.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) granted environmental clearance for the project on September 22, 2004, and in its letter clearly specified that the source of bauxite for the refinery would be the Niyamgiri mine near Lanjigarh. This led to a furore among environmentalists, who argued that as it came under the Schedule V area of the Constitution, the environment clearance granted by MoEF and forest clearance should be reviewed.

Following is an excerpt from a report on Pioneer on this.

Leader of the opposition JB Patnaik on Thursday came out with an alternative proposal on how to provide water to Posco’s proposed steel plant at Paradip without compromising the interest of farmers.

Addressing a Press conference, Patnaik said a dam could be built on the lower Mahanadi basin near Ersama to provide water to Posco’s plant at Paradip. Ersama is only 30 to 35 km from Ersama and it would not be difficult for Posco to take water from this place.

Patnaik has also come out with another proposal on how to meet the demands of the water requirement of the other industries. As per Patnaik, a barrage should be built on the IB River, on the upper basin of Mahanadi. He further said that a proper assessment should be made on the water requirements of the industries.

Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33004.

The State Government of Orissa has asked for Rs. 23 crores from Ministry of Environment & Forests to save the coastal areas of the State from losses due to sea tide. As per the information made available by the National Disaster Management Authority, the Government of India has formulated a National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) to be implemented with World Bank assistance. One of the investment proposals received under the Project from Government of Orissa is on “Shelterbelt Plantation” in Balasore, Bhadrakh, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapada Districts at a total cost of about Rs.23 crore. The Project is yet to be posed to the World Bank for their appraisal and funding.

The Government of India has issued a Coastal Regulation Zone Notification in 1991 delineating the coastal areas into different zones and listing out permissible and non permissible activities. The activities which are permissible are appraised by duly constituted expert committee, wherever necessary, and decisions are taken such that environmental balance in the coastal areas are harmonized with activities taking place in that area.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Shri S. Regupathy in a written reply to question in the Rajya Sabha today.