___________

Various newspapers (Telegraph, Financial Express) report that the Cabana group has announced a hotel and a management institute in Bhubaneswar and plans to open many hotels in various locations in Orissa. Following is an excerpt from Telegraph.

Co-chairman of Cabana Hotel Management Private Limited and venture capitalist, Prabhu Goel, said the institute will be the group’s first training venture anywhere in the world. “Since the industry demand is huge, we hope that all students will be absorbed after training,” Goel added.

The institute, for which the government has allotted a seven-acre plot near Dumduma, will have hostels for 1,500 students, classrooms, labs, kitchens, along with a an attached 200-bed hotel. The group will represent Best Western brand in India, provide hotel management services and consultancy, he said.

Over the next 10 years, the group intends to add more than 100 hotels and 10,000 rooms to the growing Indian hospitality market. “We have visited places like Chilika, Puri, Konark and Paradip. We are interested to set up hotels there. We have plans to invest around Rs 350 crores in developing properties in the state,” said Goel.

Orissawatch.org is where we started from and focused on human resource development and education. We continue to be active that site. Once in a while we will do a round-up of important postings in that site here. Following is the first such round up.

• RFPs for the AIIMS like institute in Bhubaneswar and other places
• Tenders related to NISER Bhubaneswar
• NISER Bhubaneswar brochure and application form
• List of engineering colleges in Orissa
• List of management institutions in Orissa
• List of universities in Orissa
• List of research institutions in Orissa
• Coaching Schools in Bhubaneswar
• XIM plans to roll out new courses in econometrics, financial modelling and regulatory finance.
• Post Class X ads (junior colleges; plus 2 science; plus 2 commerce)

Euronext reports that Velcan energy, a environmentally conscious energy generator has plans to create two concessions in the Baitrani river at Tarini and Bhimkund (in Anugul district).

These two places are approximately 150 kms from Bhubaneswar. This is expected to have a power production of 200,000 MWh per annum. This is expected to be a eco-friendly power project since it uses a renewable energy resource.

All the financial details are present in the euronext link above.

NDTV reports that the Gopalpur SEZ has been cleared by the Central Govt.

There was a lot of hue and cry that why the Gopalpur SEZ was not moving further in Orissa. Recent events show that it was held up due to security clearances which was required. Hopefully this will ensure faster development in Orissa.

TOI reports that POSCO has become operational with it’s new FINEX technology in a steel plant in South Korea. The same FINEX technology will be used in the Orissa steel plant. This is particularly relevant for high Alumina grade Ores found in Orissa. The new steel plant in South Korea will improve the output of POSCO by 11%.

Other papers which reported the same news were Statesman,Financial Express and Reuters India. Brunei times provides a different analysis to the same story also.

Asian Age reported that the Orissa government has set an ambitious target to collect Rs 6,000 crore revenue during the year 2007-08. If successful, it would mean an increase of Rs 1,542 crores over the previous year.

The revenue earning which stood at Rs 1,168 crores in 1999-2000, has improved a lot in the past seven years. In the year 2006-07, the state government earned Rs 4,458 crores.

Financial Express reported that the Kerala government is gearing up to set up Rs 4,000-crore coal-based thermal station in Orissa.

Kerala goverment may soon sign MoU with Coal India Ltd and Orissa government for the new venture. The proposal is for generating 1,000 mw power annually for 25 years.

Tyre and Accessories reports the Applo Tyres group plans to invest Rs 4,000 million in expanding health care venture. At present the company is looking at a number of prospective cities including locations in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Vadodara, Coimbatore, and Bhubaneswar.

Economic times reported that Tata’s proposed multi-product special economic zone (SEZ) in Gopalpur is finally set to get the green signal from the government.

Tahtya reports that Chhatisgarh Futuristic Infrastructure Development Company (CFIDC) has floated a proposal to set up a Gems and Jewellery Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the state.

The company has come up with a proposal to set up a sector specific G&J SEZ at Bhubaneswar on a land of 150-200 hectare near the air port with an investment of Rs.250-Rs.300 crore.

Samaja also covers in its news.

Samaja reports that Paradeep oil refinery would function from October 2011.

However, there were many such announcements published earlier. Every time a new date is fixed. The project is already shifted 5 years from the actual schedule.

News reports mention that Oriental Timex has acquired mining rights for decorative stones at village Potteru in Malkangiri district. Following is a quote from one of the reports.

The company acquired the said rights through a prospecting license dated Apr. 13, 2007, executed between the company and deputy director of mines, Koraput Circle Koraput, government of Orissa.

The decorative stone quarry is spread over an area of 10.279 hectares / 25.40 acres. The deposits in this quarry are of black colour granite stone.

The company said is in the process of complying with the terms and conditions of the prospecting lease.

PRESS RELEASE 29.05.2007 (CM ATTENDS NDC MEETING)

GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA

PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi

May 29, 2007

NAVEEN PATNAIK DEMANDS HIGHER ALLOCATION FOR ORISSA

TO CORRECT THE NEGLECT OF THE CENTRE

Speaking at the 53rd meeting of the National Development Council in their special session on Food and Agriculture, the Chief Minister, Shri Naveen Patnaik today demanded that the historical neglect for Eastern States like Orissa should be corrected during the 11th Plan.The advanced States of the country have had the benefit of huge public investment in irrigation and other related infrastructure in the past and the Eastern States have lost out in this race, he said. He pointed out that the various Working Groups on Agriculture have observed that the Eastern region has the maximum potential for agricultural growth during the 11th Five Year Plan and therefore region specific programmes based on the specific requirements of the different agro-climatic zones should be drawn up instead of uniform nation-wide schemes of one-size-fit-all variety.

Since irrigation is the key in agricultural growth, he suggested that Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) should have a large outlay and include not only major and medium irrigation projects but should also be extended to minor and lift irrigation projects.

For those lands which cannot be provided with assured irrigation, he suggested that a massive programme should be drawn up to cover rainfed areas on a Mission mode. He demanded that adequate funding support be provided by Government of India to the Watershed Mission of Orissa which has been set up by his Government to tackle the problems of rainfed agriculture.

He also suggested that seed production should be decentralized and seed villages encouraged so that adequate quantities of certified seeds are available to the farmers at affordable rates. He pointed out that nearly 70% of the cultivable land of Orissa is acidic in nature and transport subsidy should be provided by Government of India for gypsum and other inputs used for soil amendment.

Certain districts of Orissa such as Phulbani and Koraput have excellent potential for production of organic fruits, vegetables and spices. Since these districts are in the tribal sub-plan area, the resource-poor farmers cannot afford the high cost involved in certification of organic products. He suggested that the cost of such certification may be borne by the Government. He made a strong plea for a comprehensive crop insurance policy for cotton farmers of the State mainly in the Eastern and Southern parts of the State.

The CM also stated that farm mechanization and micro-irrigation systems are necessary in order to improve productivity of the land and timely agricultural operations. Specific schemes should be drawn up to promote a large number of cold storages in private sector with attractive incentives in the form of capital investment subsidy. Cold chain and post harvest management interventions should be put in place in order to support this sector, he added.

Mining and Metal: KBK plus region is rich in bauxite, gemstone, and other minerals. State government has made a special tax benefit for industrialists to establish industries in KBK. However, it is not enough to bring investment to a backward region like this where infrastructure is in bottleneck. Emphasis should be given by the state government in such a way that industrialists are convienced to invest in KBK plus region.

State government has already signed 43 MOUs only in the steel sector; if these are actually implemented then it is quite enough for a state like Orissa. Therefore, now the state government should modify a bit the exiting rule for steel industry putting a new clause that any new proposal to establish steel industry in the state will be considered only if it would be located in KBK plus region or Mayurbhanj district, otherwise mining rights would not be provided.

For growth of down stream industries in KBK Plus region NALCO, Vedanta Alumina Ltd, and Utkal Alumina Ltd should be encouraged to establish downstream industrial park at Koraput, Bhawanipatan and Rayagada respectively.

Irrigation and Hydroelectric Project: KBK plus region has the higher potential for generating electricity through hydroelectricity project that needs construction of new dams. If government can not support at a time, then private players should be encouraged to establish dam for hydroelectricity generation and irrigation purposes in this region.

Information Technology, BPO, and KPO: IT and BPO generate lots of employment in India recently. Bhubaneswar is already emerging as an IT and ITES destination in the country. In the next step the state government should expand these industries to other parts of the state. There are already plan for Rourkela and Berhampur. In future it may be expanded to Sambalpur and Balasore. Keeping geographical location in mind, the state government should establish at least three IT parks in Koraput, Bhawanipatna and Balangir for the whole region for IT, BPO and KPO.

Establishment of three real universities in the region would benefit these industries.

Biotechnology Park: As such KBK Plus region has a large forest area, therefore, it has great potential for biotechnology, especially for agricultural biotechnology, herbal biotechnology and medicinal biotechnology. Plantation of herbal plants and agricultural biotechnology in this region would be much beneficial.

KBK Plus region could be a very good source of ethanol from not only agriculture but also the forest. Mahul (a locally known forest flower that is used to make local wine) could be a good source for ethanol and methanol. Though wine is locally discouraged, nevertheless it can be used for industrial growth to export out side the country. The export market of Indian made wine and beer is flourishing recently. Orissa should encourage such activity by inviting major industrialists to invest in wine and food processing market to explore the possibility of local made products for export market so that it will benefit both the state government and local people that included tribal people who collect Mahul from the forest for local wine production.

The region would also be a source for bio-diesel and bio-fuel production.

Therefore, biotechnology parks in the three major towns such as Bhawanipatna, Koraput and Balangir to explore agricultural, herbal and medicinal biotechnology respectively in the region should be established.

Reference: KBK Plus region includes a single cluster of Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir, Subarnapur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Nawarangpur , Kandhamal, Boudh, Gajpati and Bargarh (Padampur sub-division only) districts of Orissa.

It gets reported once in a while [Hindu1, Hindu, Technoligence,iocl ] that IOC plans a new 300,000 barrels a day refinery and petrochemical complex at Paradip. Timesnow.tv has a recent report on this.

The New Indian Express reports that the state Government has decided to launch enterprise development rogramme in 200 villages in the catchment area of Upper Kolab HydroElectric Project to create alternative employment opportunities and nd dependence on forest.

This would include value addition to non-timber forest product, edicinal plants, agriculture and horticulture products, leaf plate aking, hill broom making, mushroom cultivation, spawn production, ruit preservation and opening of handicraft centre for bamboo articles.

Although its a novel initiative, it needs proper implimentation.

Moneycontrol India reportted the following.

Chinese steel company Baoshan Iron & Steel company or Baosteel is set to invest in a ferro chrome unit in Kalinganagar in Orissa, reports CNBC-TV18.

It futher says, it would be a joint venture with Visa Steel’s who has a 50,000 tpa ferro chrome unit in Kalinganagar to be commissioned in June.

The Telegraph reports that Mumbai-based Cabana Hotel Management plans to set up Best Western-branded hotels in Bhubaneswar.

“We are establishing hotels in Ooty (Udhagamandalam), Bangalore, Kanyakumari, Jaisalmer, Rameshwaram and Bhubaneswar, on which we will start construction soon,” Prabhu Goel, co-chairman of Cabana Group, said.

The completion of the (a) Kurdha Rd – Balangir new line, (b) Lanjigarh Rd – Junagarh new line, (c) broad gauge conversion of Naupada Rd and Gunupur and (d) the completion of the Gunupur-Theruvali line will have the following benefits. [Among these, with the current funding level (b) and (c) will be completed in a couple of years. What is needed is a big push to complete (a) and (d) in the next 3-4 years.]

1. Parlakhemundi, the district headquarter of Gajapati will be on Broad gauge rail and will be 305 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [c]
2. Sonepur, the district HQ of Sonepur district will be on Broad gauge rail and will be 259 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [a]
3. Boudh, the district HQ of Boudha district will be on Broad gauge and will be 217 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital).[a]
4. Nayagarha, the district HQ of Nayagarha district will be on Broad gauge and will be 84 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital). [a]
5. Bhawanipatna, the district HQ of Kalahandi district will be on Broad gauge and will be 450 kms from Bhubaneswar via Balangir [a,b] and 504 kms from Bhubaneswar (the state capital) via Gunupur. [b,c,d]
6. Balangir, the district HQ of Balangir district will now be 309 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 397 kms. [a]
7. Nawapara Rd, near the district HQ of Nawapara district will now be 459 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 547 kms. [a]
8. Rayagada, the district HQ of Rayagada district will now be 419 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 502 kms. [c,d]
9. Koraput, the district HQ of Koraput district will now be 573 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 676 kms. [c,d]
10. Titlagarh, a major junction will now be 373 kms from Bhubaneswar instead of the earlier 461 kms. [a]

Thus these four lines will connect 5 new district HQs to the broad gauge railways and will significantly reduce the distance between 4 other district HQs and the state capital. That is 8 district HQs would be within half-a-day intercity distance away from the state capital and the 9th one (Koraput) will be within a overnight ride from the state capital. Thus intercity trains between (i) Bhuabneswar and Nawapara Rd (ii) Bhubaneswar and Bhawanipatna and (iii) Bhubaneswar and Rayagada will completely change the psychology of people in districts such as Kalahandi, Rayagada and Nawapara and feel them more connected with the rest of the state. (Currently 2893 leaves Bhubaneswar at 5:45 AM and reaches Balangir at 1:20 PM. Within the same time, with the shortened route it can easily go up to Titlagarh junction and with a little speed up this train will be able to go up to Bhawanipatna or Nawapara Rd.) Similarly a shorter overnight train between Jeypore and Bhubaneswar will make people in Koraput district feel much closer to the rest of the state. (Currently 8448 leaves Koraput at 6:25 PM and reaches Bhubaneswar at 8:30 AM next morning. With a shorter route a train can leave Koraput at 8:30 PM and make it to Bhubaneswar by 8:30 AM next morning.)

Two further extensions of Junagarh-Nawarangpur and Jeypore-Malkangiri will bring two other KBK district HQs to be connected to the broad gauge railways.

Following explains the calculations [orissalinks] :

1. Parlakhemundi-Naupada Rd is 40 kms and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms.
2. Sonepur to Khurda Rd is 240 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.
3. Boudha to Khurda Rd is 198 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.
4. Nayagarh to Khurda Rd is 65 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms.
5. Bhawanipatna to Lanjiharh Rd is 30 kms, Lanjigarh Rd to Titlagarh is 47 kms, Titlagarh to Balangir is 64 kms, Balangir to Khurda Rd is 290 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms. Lanjigarh Rd to Theruvali is 74 kms, Theruvali to Gunupur is estimated to be 45 kms, Gunupur to Naupada rd is 90 kms, and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms.
6. Balangir to Khurda Rd is 290 kms and Khurda Rd to Bhubaneswar is 19 kms. Balangir to Sambalpur is 118 kms, Sambalpur to Talcher Rd is 169 kms, Talcher Thermal to Barang is 94 kms and Barang to Bhubaneswar is 16 kms.
7. Nawapara Rd to Titlagarh is 86 kms and Titlagarh to Balangir is 64 kms.
8. Rayagada to Theruvali is 19 kms, Theruvali to Naupada Rd is estimated to be 135 kms and Naupada Rd to Bhubaneswar is 265 kms. Rayagad to Vijainagaram is 124 kms and Vijainagaram to Bhubaneswar is 378 kms.
9. Koraput to Rayagada is 174 kms.
10. Titlagarh to Balangir is 64 kms.

Pioneer mentions that the National Highway Authority of India has given final notification for 4-6 laning of Panikoili-Rajamunda. Following is an excerpt on the same topic from Pragativadi.

 Keonjhar: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has notified the four-six laning of the Panikoili-Rajamunda section of the NH-215, under the (National Highway Development Project) NHDP-III.

The notification has asked the district headquarter to undertake the land acquisition along the section of Panikoili in Jajpur district to Rajamunda in Sundergarh except for the section of Rimuli to Guali in Keonjhar district. The land acquisition will be made for a distance totalling 230 km of the total length of 263 km of NH-215 under the National Highways Act, 1956.

The project will be taken up under the BOT (Build -Operate-Transfer) scheme encompassing three revenue districts Keonjhar, Jajpur and Sundargarh. The proposed project was sanctioned by the NHAI in 2004-05 to mainly to cater to the needs of Paradip Port Trust (PPT) and due to persistent demands from the state government, especially Lok Sabha member from Keonjhar, Anant Naik.

From http://rc.orissa.gov.in/index3.asp?linkid=30&sublinkid=219

PRESS RELEASE DT.28.05.2007(CM ATTENDS CONFRENCE ON POWER SECTOR)

GOVERNMENT OF ORISSA
PRESS RELEASE
New Delhi
May 28, 2007

Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa today attended the Conference of Chief Ministers on Power Sector at Vigyan Bhawan. The meeting, which was chaired by the Prime Minister, broadly focused on accelerated capacity addition in the power sector, efforts to reduce Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses, ensuring greater competition to open access, rural electrification and energy conservation and efficiency.
Addressing the Conference, Shri Patnaik highlighted the fact that Orissa is the first State in the country to have undertaken reforms and restructuring of the power sector. It has nearly 25% of the total coal reserves of the country and has, therefore, a natural advantage for pit-head generation of power. The CM emphasized the point that the existing duty structure, however, does not provide any incentive to the power producing States. He urged upon the Prime Minister to have a legislation enabling the power producing States to levy duty on generation of power and provide the power producing States with concessional power. Further, suitable contributions should be made by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for mitigating environmental hazards. Capacity addition should also be eco-friendly and aim towards clean and efficient power.

In order to add capacity, the Government of Orissa has entered into MoUs with 13 companies to set up thermal power plants in the State with a total projected capacity of about 17,000 MW. Besides private companies, 5 PSUs of government of Orissa have also drawn up plans
to set up power plants. He urged upon the Centre that coal blocks should be made available to all such power producers in the State.

He informed the House that the Government of Orissa has floated 3 Shell companies to set up mini ultra power projects. They are ready to select partners provided they are allocated coal blocks.

Shri Patnaik stressed that the aggregate technical and commercial losses (AT&C) cannot be reduced to the ideal level of 15% unless substantial investment is made in power infrastructure. He urged upon the Government of India to extend a special package of Rs.2,000 crore on the pattern provided to the State of Bihar for improving the transmission and distribution sectors. He said that it was ironical that the Government of India is talking about reforms in power sector and at the same time denying the legitimate incentive to the only State of the country which has completed the reform process.

CM further mentioned that the present regulatory framework puts a cap of 4 paise per unit for inter-State sale of electricity. The power producing States should be allowed to leverage their natural advantage and no artificial restrictions whatsoever should be imposed for the benefit of more prosperous consuming States. In the name of being consumer friendly, the rate of sale of power should not be such as to demotivate the power producing States.
Shri Patnaik stated that since as many as 50 lac households of Orissa do not have access to electricity, it was logical that the State should receive a substantial allocation of funds from the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana. Further, while States like UP have received Rs.2357 crore, Bihar Rs.852 crore and Uttaranchal Rs.337 crore, Orissa has got only Rs.67 crore under the RGGVY for only two districts out of the total of 30 districts in the State. There has been inordinate delay in implementation of the programme which has necessitated the new initiative of Biju Gram Jyoti Programme in Orissa.
He also stressed upon the fact that the norm of excluding habitations with a population of less than 300 will debar a large number of tribal hamlets from the benefit of RGGVY and requested that this decision may, therefore, be reconsidered and all habitations be covered under the scheme.

Samaja has a beautiful editorial page article by Ramachandra Pattanayak. In it the the author explains that if we continue opposing Posco, Tisco and Mittal what will happen is that steel plants will be made in other states, our mines will be assigned by the central government to these steel plants in other states and we will lose out on many fronts including infrastructure development that comes with steel plants, ancillaries, etc. Similarly, he says it does not make sense that we are so vocal about IIT etc. and yet we oppose Vedanta University.

I agree with the author. The assignment of mines is not fully under state govt. control. We can not sit on requests and delay assigning mines. If we do that currently the central govt. has the right to assign the mines to others. Losing out on the mines, we lose out on the related infrastructure developments such as townships, railways, roads, and to some degree ports. We also lose out on the ancillaries. In this regard one may note cities with big steel plants such as Rourkela or Jamshedpur. They all have lots of ancillary units around that area. So even if the main steel plant does not employ as many people as in the past, there are more opportunities for ancillaries these days as the state is keen on going after auto factories, bicycle factories etc. These ancillaries will hire a lot of people. But, of course, we should not force people out of their land; they should be enticed with good compensation (R&R). On the other hand we need to be very careful and wary of some of the neighboring states who are trying to spread their ideology to our state and in the process trying to steal some of these upcoming developments in Orissa. In this regard it is amazing that politicians and MPs from a neighboring state are able to come to Orissa and say that their party opposes such and such project in Orissa. At the same time the party of these politicians support industry in their state so much that they or their allies have sent in cadres dressed up as policemen to kill and rape people opposed to industrialization in their state. What gull these politicians from the neighboring state have and how stupid we Oriyas are to invite them, give them a platform and listen to them.

Orissa Road Projects to get Rs 1, 406 crore world bank aid

The Financial Express reported the following:

Of the total amount, Rs 415 crore would be invested during the current financial year to build the 68 km Bhawanipatna- Khariar road, 95 km stretch of Chandbali-Bhadrak-Anandapur road and 41 km Berhampur-Taptapani road. The Sambalpur- Rourkela, Joda-Bambri and Koira- Tensa-Rajamunda roads will be widened under the PPP mode.

The New Indian Express also reported that:

there is also a proposal to set up a Construction Academy akin to ne in Hyderabad to assist the capacity building activities of the state Government. The academy will train contractors and workers with modern construction techniques.

The New Indian Express goes on to say:

Earlier central government promised to:

(1) improve 1,000 km of National Highway of the State

(2) get Rs 2,200 crore under NHDP over a period of five years.

(3) have a mechanism to spend Rs 480 crore annually for development f National Highways against the present fund od Rs 80 crore from he National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

(4) construct Khordha-Balangir NH 224

These are few good inititives for developing road infrastructure of Orissa. In the first step such initiatives should be taken to directly link all district headquarters with the state capital in the shortest possible route through either national highway or Orissa Road project.