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The following ad in Samaja gives highlights of two recently launched schemes in agriculture:

• National Food Security Mission (NFSM)
  • The 15 districts in Orissa covered under the NFSM-Rice scheme (as given in page 40 of the above document) are Angul, Balangir, Boudha, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Nawapara, Nawarangpur, Nayagarh, Phulbani, and Sundargarh.
  • The 10 districts in Orissa covered under the NFSM-Pulse scheme (as given in page 43 of the above document) are Balangir, Baragarh, Cuttack, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Khurda, Nayagarh, Puri, Rayagada.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY)

The package described below are:

• Photo IDS for weavers within the next two years.
• Annual training to improve productivity and skill for 2000 weavers.
•  Apparel design and training centers in Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur, Rourkea and Baripada.
• Development of a fund for the welfare of weavers.
• A raw material bank for handloom materials.
• Integrated project in handloom in Nuapatana.
• Building of 1000 worksheds.
• A handloom museum in Bhubaneswar.

The Orissa government official portal has a new design and look. It seems to have a lot of new and updated information. However, many links are broken. I guess fixing all the bugs will take some time. Readers may comment on the bugs they find in the comment section below and we will aggregate them and send them to the appropriate people.

Following are excerpts from a Pragativadi report:

For the first time, the state government, under its eco tourism has decided to set up camps inside the forest for the tourists, to be known as the eco camp.

The state government has taken elaborate measures to attract the tourists to enjoy the long stretch of forests replete with wild animals in the state.

This novel scheme is the brainchild of chief minister Navin Patnaik under whose directive, the forest and environment department has taken up the eco camp project.
The tourists, during their stay at these eco camps would enjoy the natural forest landscape and witness free movement of wild animals.

The department, in its first phase has decided to set up three eco camps at Ramchandi, Sankuda and Rajhansa islands.

In the next phase, these camps would be set up at Satkosia-Baisipalli, Bhitarakanika, Similipal, Talasari-Dogra, Ushakothi-Badarama, Koraput, Phulbani, Hirakud and some other selected places.

Talking to this paper, tourism minister Debi Prasad Mishra said that a project report on eco camp has been completed.

The project would be taken up on a public-private partnership while the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation would construct the eco camps, he added.
As per the project proposal, laid down by the tourism department, the eco camps would be set up at a selected site in the forest where permanent tents would be set up.

These tents will have toilet and food arrangement facilities. The tourists can stay at these tents in night if they wish. The forest staffs would provide adequate security for the tourists and enable them to enjoy the landscape and free movement of wild animals. The state tourism department would seek cooperation from the forest department in this connection. Mishra said that there has been gradual increase in the number of tourists in the state to enjoy its natural environment.

He said that since tourists are keen to enjoy the 480-km long sea coast with a long stretch of forest cover, natural streams laced with a variety of flora and fauna while staying within the natural environment, the state government has come up with eco camp concept that would surely provide a thrilling experience to the tourists.

Economic Times also reports on this.

Following are excerpts from a Telegraph report.

The Indian company, which became the sixth largest steel maker after buying Corus of the UK in January, plans to start construction work on its proposed 6-million-tonne integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in November. …

Problems over land acquisition and mining leases have slowed progress on the Tata and Posco projects. Mittal’s Jharkhand project is facing the same predicament.

Tata Steel managing director B. Muthuraman, who met chief minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on Thursday evening, said the company had sought mining leases for iron ore and expected to get them soon. Corus chief executive officer Philippe Varin accompanied Muthuraman.

The challenge before Tata Steel is now to relocate the families living on the land where the plant will come up. So far 620 of 1,200 families have been shifted. Tata Steel will start construction once another 200 families are relocated.

Varin said Corus and Tata Steel would be working together to set up the Kalinganagar plant and the best technology would be used. The first phase would call for Rs 6,000-crore investment, while the total project would cost Rs 15,000 crore.

The company was allocated 2,000 acres for the plant at Kalinganagar. The Orissa government is to recommend Tata Steel’s case for a mining lease after 25 per cent of the order for the plant and machinery is placed. Sources said the company had started placing orders worth Rs 4,500 crore for a blast furnace, sinter plant and coke oven unit.

The company wants iron ore mining leases at Mankadanacha and Baliapal to be restored. They were scrapped after the company failed to set up a steel plant in Gopalpur in the nineties.

State steel and mines secretary U. P. Singh said the government would consider Tata Steel’s application for mining lease according to procedures. …

The Orissa plant is a building block for Tata Steel’s integration with Corus. It will make primary steel here which will be sent to Corus’s west European finishing mills.