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Following is an excerpt from a Pioneer report on this.

The State Culture Department on Wednesday decided to construct a theatre hall and an auditorium here, said an official of the department. …

… Rabindra Mandap and Bhanja Kala Mandap are the two available platforms in the city to facilitate staging of dramas and theaters. …

Noteworthy that in 1988 theaters were being staged for five days in a week in the city and the revenue generated from it was shared between the Government and the theatre house. But, the trend came to a halt in 1992.

In order to revive the professional theatre houses like Utkal Rangamanch Trust, the State Government in1997 fixed the responsibility on Bhanja Kala Mandap.

Now, it has been possibly decided to construct a theatre hall in the premises of Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre. Once constructed, the hall would at a time accommodate 350 persons. It is proposed to be built on the architect fashion of Pruthwi theatre hall in Mumbai. The estimated cost of the proposed hall is Rs 3 crore.

Besides, an auditorium with the capacity of 1,000 seats would constructed at Sainik School and the estimated cost of the auditorium is Rs 12 crore. For this purpose four acres of land have been earmarked. It will be built in the line of Rabindra Mandap, said the officer.

The table of consumer price index for agricultural and rural laborers in 20 states (including Orissa) is given in http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32108.

Following is from the PIB press release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32088.

The Government of India has now extended the Mid Day Meal Scheme to the Upper Primary Stage of Education (classes VI to VIII) in 3479 Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) in 2007-08 and areas across the country from 2008-09. The programme has been extended as per State-wise list of EBBs attached in Annexure- A. The extension to the Upper Primary Stage in EBBs has already become effective from October 01, 2007. About 1.7 crore children at upper primary will be covered.

The Government of India has released the Central assistance to the respective States for extension of Mid-Day Meal programme to upper primary stage. A sum of Rs.7324 Crores was provided in the Budget 2007-08 for the MDM Programme, representing 37% increase over the budget provision for 2006-07. The Expenditure as on 30-09-2007 is Rs.2231.12 Crores (30% of BE) including Rs. 422.94 crores towards cooking cost for upper primary stage. In addition, 3,22,785 MTs of food grain has been allocated to States/UTs for extension of coverage to upper primary stage (Annexure-B).

The Calorific value of the mid day meal has been fixed for upper primary at 700 calories and 20 grams of protein. Foodgrains @ 150 grams per child/ school day for the upper primary stage would be provided.

The cooking cost of mid day meal for upper primary stage at Rs 2.50 per child/school day with the NER States contribution being a minimum of Rs 0.20 per child/school day and for all other States and UTs, the State contribution being Rs 0.50 per child/school day.

Transport Subsidy has been enhanced for eleven Special Category States (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir & Uttarakhand) from Rs. 100 per quintal to Rs. 125 per quintal.

The Central assistance to construct kitchen-cum-store in upper primary schools would be provided @ Rs 60,000 per unit, as in the case of primary stage besides, Central assistance for kitchen devices to upper primary schools would be @ Rs 5,000 per school as in the case of primary stage.

The name of Scheme has been changed from ‘National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education’ to ‘National Programme of Mid Day Meals in Schools’.

Indigo airlines will connect Bhubaneswar with non-stop to Delhi and Hydearabad and one stop (via Hyderabad) to Bangalore from November 17th. The new schedule is at http://book.goindigo.in/skylights/cgi-bin/skylights.cgi?module=c3&page=DESTINATIONSNEW.

The schedule is:

6E 252 Bhubaneshwar Delhi 7:10 PM 9:20 PM Daily
6E 251 Delhi Bhubaneshwar 8:55 AM 11:00 AM Daily

6E 251 Bhubaneshwar Hyderabad 11:35 AM 12:55 PM Daily
6E 252 Hyderabad Bhubaneshwar 5:20 PM 6:40 PM Daily

6E 251 Bhubaneshwar Bangalore 11:35 AM 2:45 PM Daily Hyderabad
6E 252 Bangalore Bhubaneshwar 3:30 PM 6:40 PM Daily Hyderabad

Following is an excerpt from a Business Standard report on this.

JSW Energy Ltd (JSWEL), a Sajjan Jindal group company, is planning to set up three power plants in North and Eastern India. The company also plans to foray into non-renewable energy and transmission and distribution of power.

JSW Energy, which is executing over 3000 MW of power projects, is likely to set up either coal or lignite based power plants of above 1000 MW each in Orissa, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It is also in the process of conducting due diligence studies on wind and solar energy-based power projects. Investments in the new projects are expected to be over Rs 15,000 crore.

The following is an excerpt from a report in domain-b.com.

The CRISIL Awards for Excellence in Municipal Initiatives were recently presented by S Jaipal Reddy, minister for urban development, at the national conference on Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at DRDO Bhavan, in New Delhi.

Of the 35 cities that participated in the evaluation, nine were awarded across four categories viz. mega cities, million plus cities, other JNNURM cities, and states.

The winners in each of the categories were the municipalities of Chennai, Vishakapatnam, Ajmer, and State of Orissa respectively. …

When the centre launched JNNURM in December 2005, it recognised that mere funding of infrastructure projects would not transform cities. A strong focus on reforms, both at the urban local body (ULB) level and at the state level are essential for a city’s sustainable long-term growth.

Hemant Joshi, managing director & CEO, CRISIL risk and infrastructure solutions, explained, “CRISIL recognises the significance of this combination of funding & reforms, and its potential to create vibrant, eminently liveable, people-friendly cities. The Awards were launched by CRISIL in partnership with Ministry of Urban Development and this year’s theme was ‘Commitment to Reforms under JNNURM'”.

The following is extracted from an ndtvprofit.com report.

• The state government, Posco agreed to April 1 deadline as the date was significant for both Orissa and the steel major. It is observed as ‘Utkal Divas’ and also the anniversary of Posco, Lee said.
• During the discussion, Patnaik pointed out that 512 acres of government land had already been sanctioned to Posco, while 3,000 acres of forest land was cleared by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), official sources said.

  Posco required 4,004 acres near Paradip to set up its proposed 12 mtpa capacity steel mill which had been facing opposition from the local people. “Though land was ready for handover to Posco, this could not be done in the face of stiff opposition from the local people,” they said.

• Patnaik said the state government would complete hearing of all applications for Khandadhar mines in Sundargarh district by November, sources said.

  Orissa government had already recommended the name of the South Korean company for the Prospecting Licence (PL), they said.

• Patnaik urged Lee to immediately commence construction of transit accommodation for the displaced people and a training center for imparting technical education to local youths so that they could be provided with jobs in future.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Statesman.

The state forest department has embarked on a project to renovate a unique Victorian-structured marvel as a part of its eco-tourism package in the internationally acclaimed Bhitarkanika Ramsar wetland site.

The 141-year-old sprawling Hukitola building, which carries the proof of excellent British architectural skill with rainwater harvesting system, has finally drawn the attention of the government agencies after it was neglected for years.

“The gigantic structure on the Mahanadi deltaic region has been taken up for maintenance by the department. We are going to have a forest watch tower there. To promote tourism, we will have boats to carry people from the Paradip port town. The place nestled in the deltaic-shaped elevated landscape is blessed with rich mangrove forests. Its proximity to the shore would make way for tourism,” said the divisional forest Officer, Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division, Mr Ajay Kumar Jena.

The department would start its operation within a week. Keeping in view this fact that Paradip is fast emerging as a bustling industrial hub, tourism would receive the much-needed boost.

“The tranquil environment in and around Hukitola are strikingly similar to that of the Bhitarkanika wetland. Thus a voyage to Hukitola would be a visual treat for the tourists. The British structure will be an added attraction,” Mr Jena said.
While ravages of time has threatened its existence, its conservation is necessary. “It’s a priceless treasure. We had taken up the proposal for its maintenance with the Union finance commission grants earmarked for maintenance of ancient monuments,” Mr Jena said.

The building has a total plinth area of more than 7,000 square feet.

Thanks to Manoj Padhi for pointing this out in Orissa Today. The following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=31832.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for the National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, 2007, to replace the National Policy on Resettlement and Rehabilitation for Project Affected Families, 2003. A Gazette Notification will be issued shortly to bring into effect the new Policy.

The Cabinet also decided to bring a legislation on the lines of the new Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, and to suitably amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Necessary steps shall be taken in this regard as per the established procedure.

The new Policy and the associated legislative measures aim at striking a balance between the need for land for developmental activities and, at the same time, protecting the interests of the land owners, and others, such as the tenants, the landless, the agricultural and non-agricultural labourers, artisans, and others whose livelihood depends on the land involved. The benefits under the new Policy shall be available to all affected persons and families whose land, property or livelihood is adversely affected by land acquisition or by involuntary displacement of a permanent nature due to any other reason, such as natural calamities, etc. The Policy will be applicable to all these cases irrespective of the number of people involved.

The benefits to be offered under the new Policy to the affected families include; land-for-land, to the extent Government land would be available in the resettlement areas; preference for employment in the project to at least one person from each nuclear family within the definition of the ‘affected family’, subject to the availability of vacancies and suitability of the affected person; training and capacity building for taking up suitable jobs and for self-employment; scholarships for education of the eligible persons from the affected families; preference to groups of cooperatives of the affected persons in the allotment of contracts and other economic opportunities in or around the project site; wage employment to the willing affected persons in the construction work in the project; housing benefits including houses to the landless affected families in both rural and urban areas; and other benefits.

Adequate provisions have also been made for financial support to the affected families for construction of cattle sheds, shops, and working sheds; transportation costs, temporary and transitional accommodation, and comprehensive infrastructural facilities and amenities in the resettlement area including education, health care, drinking water, roads, electricity, sanitation, religious activities, cattle grazing, and other community resources, etc.

The benefits expressed in monetary terms have been linked to the Consumer Price Index, and the same shall also be revised suitably at appropriate intervals.

The Requiring Bodies shall be responsible for development of designated areas on the periphery of the project site, and shall earmark funds for the purpose of such periphery development activities.

A special provision has been made for providing life-time monthly pension to the vulnerable persons, such as the disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, abandoned women, or persons above 50 years of age (who are not provided or cannot immediately be provided with alternative livelihood).

Special provision for the STs and SCs include preference in land-for-land for STs followed by SCs; a Tribal Development Plan which will also include a programme for development for alternate fuel which will also include a programme for development for alternate fuel and non-timber forest produce resources, consultations with Gram Sabhas and Tribal Advisory Councils, protection of fishing rights, land free-of-cost for community and religious gatherings, continuation of reservation benefits in resettlement areas, etc.

A strong grievance redressal mechanism has been prescribed, which includes standing R&R Committees at the district level, R&R Committees at the project level, and an Ombudsman duly empowered in this regard. The R&R Committees shall have representatives from the affected families including women, voluntary organisations, Panchayats, local elected representatives, etc. Provision ahs also been made for post-implementation social audits of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes and plans.

For effective monitoring of the progress of implementation of R&R plans, provisions have been made for a National Monitoring Committee, a National Monitoring Cell, mandatory information sharing by the States and UTs with the National Monitoring Cell, and Oversight Committees in the Ministries/Departments concerned for each major project, etc.

For ensuring transparency, provision has been made for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information shall be placed in the public domain on the Internet as well as shared with the concerned Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, etc. by the project authorities.

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

Under the new Policy, no project involving displacement of families beyond defined thresholds can be undertaken without a detailed Social Impact Assessment, which among other things, shall also take into account the impact that the project will have on public and community properties, assets and infrastructure; and the concerned Government shall have to specify that the ameliorative measures for addressing the said impact, may not be less than what is provided under any scheme or programme of the Central or State Government in operation in the area. The SIA report shall be examined by an independent multi-disciplinary expert group, which will also include social science and rehabilitation experts. Following the conditions of the SIA clearance shall be mandatory for all projects displacing people beyond the defined thresholds.

The affected communities shall be duly informed and consulted at each stage, including public hearings in the affected areas for social impact assessment, wide dissemination of the details of the survey to be conducted for R&R plan or scheme, consultations with the Gram Sabhas and public hearings in areas not having Gram Sabhas, consultations with the affected families including women, NGOs, Panchayats, and local elected representatives, among others. Consultations with the Gram Sabhas in the Scheduled Areas shall be held as per the provisions of the PESA Act, 1996.

The Policy also provides that land acquired for a public purpose cannot be transferred to any other purpose but a public purpose, and that too, only with prior approval of the Government. If land acquired for a public purpose remains un-utilized for the purpose for five years from the date of taking over the possession, the same shall revert to the Government concerned. When land acquired is transferred for a consideration, eighty per cent of any net unearned income so accruing to the transferor, shall be shared with the persons from whom the lands were acquired, or their heirs, in proportion to the value of the lands acquired.

The entitled persons shall have the option to take up to twenty per cent of their rehabilitation grant and compensation amount in the form of shares, if the Requiring Body is a company authorised to issue shares and debentures; with prior approval of the Government, this proportion can be as high as fifty per cent of the rehabilitation grant and compensation amount.

One of the objectives of the Policy is to minimize displacement of people and to promote non-displacing or least-displacing alternatives. The Policy also recommends that only the minimum necessary area of land commensurate with the purpose of the project should be taken, and the use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes should be kept to the minimum; multi-crop land should be avoided and irrigated land use should be kept to the minimum for such purposes. Projects may preferably be set up on wastelands or un-irrigated lands.

The Policy has been formulated after wide-ranging consultations with the concerned Ministries/Departments, the States and the Union Territories, the industry groups, persons/groups actively engaged in the field of R&R, and the public at large.

The following is an ad from Samaja.

Following is from the Orissa government press release at http://rc.orissa.gov.in/index3.asp?linkid=30&sublinkid=232.

Shri Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa met the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri T.R. Baalu today. The meeting mainly focused on the poor conditions of the National Highways in Orissa and the ways & means of improving their standards. In particular, the Chief Minister invited his attention towards the deteriorating condition of NH-215, which connects Panikoili to Rajamunda. This road is the lifeline of the mineral-based industries in Orissa and needs Rs.95.00 Crore for immediate repair and restoration. The Union Minister, Shri Baalu assured to sanction the entire amount immediately and take all steps for maintaining the National Highway. He also assured an immediate increase in the present allocation of funds from Rs.85 Crore to Rs.130 Crore for National Highways in Orissa like NH-6, NH-200 (Chandikhol to Talcher), NH-224 (Khurda to Bolangir), NH-217 (Gopalpur to Raipur), NH-201 (Borigumma to Bargarh) and NH-23 (Biramitrapur to Banarpal) and further increase of Rs.30 Crore in the allocation based on actual need and expenditure. Chief Minister also requested him to augment allocation of funds for repair of the flood damaged roads. Discussion was held on the proposed Vijaywada-Ranchi road passing through Orissa. This road will serve as a security corridor and also provide a boost to the economic development in the leftwing extremist-affected regions of the State. It was decided that Survey work for this project will be taken up by the State PWD and funded by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways quickly. The Union Minister assured his full cooperation and agreed to have a joint meeting of the Chief Ministers of Orissa, A.P. and Jharkhand early to sort out the inter-State issues. He also assured to visit Orissa shortly to have detailed discussions with the State Government on these issues.

Following is from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=32002.

The Chief Minister of Orissa Shri Naveen Patnaik called on the Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Thiru T.R. Baalu here today and discussed the various ongoing road projects in the State.

On a request from the Chief Minister for improving and strengthening of National Highway 215 (Panikoili to Rajamunda), Thiru Baalu informed Shri Patnaik that the technical sanction of Rs. 95 crore would be granted immediately It may be recalled that the entire length of 269 kms of NH- 215 has been included under NHDP Phase III and preparation of DPR for four-laning upgradation by NHAI is under way. Meanwhile, in order to improve the deteriorating condition of the National Highways in Orissa, the Ministry would allocate additional Rs 45 crore.

Thiru Baalu indicated to Shri Patnaik that the menace of overloaded trucks has taken its toll on NH 215 and the road condition has deteriorated rapidly. He urged the State Government to take immediate measures to control the plying of over-loaded vehicles on NHs. In order to curb the practice of overloading and to ease the problem of traffic congestion, Thiru Baalu desired that the State Government should organize a meeting with all the stakeholders in which Union Shipping and Road Transport & Highways Secretaries should also participate within a fortnight for finalizing the modalities for strengthening of National Highway 215 which is suffering from the menace of over-loading.

Regarding the Vijayawada – Ranchi Road, Thiru Baalu told the State CM that the Government of Orissa will have to expedite the finalization of the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for remaining 600 km of this route in Orissa. The Minister desired to have a detailed presentation on this project as it comprises of National Highways, State Highways and the Village Roads. Thiru Baalu said that he would also be interacting with the State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand to expedite finalization of the modalities for this Project.

Regarding the Road connectivity to Paradip Port (NH 5A), the Union Minister told Shri Patnaik that land acquisition for NHDP in general and Paradip Port in particular is required to be expedited by the State Goverment. He also emphasized for immediate identification of alternate service roads and parking places for easing the traffic congestion near the Port area.

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

The 10 decimal land covered with vegetable plants of different varieties is now a source of income for Hari Podh of Khamarbadmal village, 50 km from here. …

Today, traders wait at his farm to buy vegetables plucked straight from his field. This, apparently, is something new the village is witnessing. With no water source, vegetable cultivation was a dream for the villagers. But intervention by an NGO, Mass, changed it all.

Hari just had to invest Rs 4,000 for constructing a Chahala (a small water harvesting body dug at the lowest point of land) and this changed the condition of his land.

Hari’s not the lone case. Joseph Bage of the same village invested Rs 10,000 on his three acre land and constructed a traditional water harvesting body. Now, his land is completely drought-proof.

Earlier, Khamarbadmal was one among the drought-hit villages in the region. People had land but no food. Poor quality of land devoid of supplementary irrigation sources yielded no results.

However, inspired by Hari and Joseph, the villagers are now in the process of constructing a series of water harvesting structures which when completed, will make 80 per cent of cultivable area of their village totally drought-proof and open up income generating sources. Mass is providing the villagers financial support for the purpose.

They have planned a total of 22 water harvesting structures of different types, shapes and structures depending on their suitability.

Besides, they are taking up farm land improvement activities. They have already completed construction of six structures.

Following is an excerpt on this from a report in Business Standard.

GAIL India, the country’s largest transporter and marketer of gas, will diversify from its core business to invest in a fertiliser and chemical plant at Talcher in Orissa. The gas utility will form a joint venture with government-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) to set up the Rs 2,400 crore plant which will have a capacity to produce 2,940 tonne per year of urea, GAIL, CMD, UD Choubey said.

An agreement between GAIL and RCF will be signed soon, Choubey said.

“The equity structure is yet to be worked out. RCF will carry out a feasibility study on the integrated fertiliser and chemical plant,” Choubey said.

The plant will be fed with 7 million cubic metres a day (mcmd) of gas produced through the surface coal gasification process for which Coal India (CIL) will supply around 5,000 tonne of coal.

“We are in constant touch with CIL. They have in-principle agreed to supply the coal,” Choubey said.

Explaining the rationale behind diversifying into fertilisers, Choubey said that the trigger for the move was that the company wanted to increase its presence in the gas business in east India. “We have always been supplying gas to fertiliser plants. This is just a move forward,” Choubey explained.

TCS has a software development center in Bhubaneswar. Following is an excerpt from a report in livemint regarding TCS’s plan to establish a training center in Bhubaneswar.

TCS has a training centre for science graduates at Chennai, where it plans to increase capacity to be able to train 3,000 at a time. Besides, it plans to open four more centres at Assam, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar and Bhubaneswar to have an additional capacity of up to 5,000 at an investment of Rs400 crore.

“Scaling up to 30,000 at 10 centres is not a problem for us,” said S. Ramadorai, chief executive officer and managing director, TCS.

TCS, which reported Rs5,640 crore in revenues in the September quarter, spends 2% of its revenue on employee training.

Following is extracted from a Kalinga Times report.

• Nov 16-18: Parab festival at Koraput.
• Nov 23-27: Shreekshetra-Beach Festival, Puri.
• December 1-5: Konark Festival.
• Jan 3-17: Toshali-Ekamra Festival in Bhubaneswar. The festival will be include a 10-day Toshali Crafts Fair and the following:
  • Mukteswar Dance evening from January 3 to 5
  • Rajarani Music Evening from January 5 to 7
  • Kalinga Martial Dance Evening at Dhauli on January 8 and 9
  • Folk dance festival from January 10 to 17
  • International Food Festival from January 3 to 17
  • National Level Handloom and Handicrafts Exhibition-cum-sale from January 3 to 17
  • Walking Tours of Heritage Corridors from January 6 to 13

• Jan 4-6: Folk Dance Festival at Sambalpur.

Following are excerpts from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=31918.

During the current financial year the Ministry has sanctioned so far Rs.323.00 crore for various projects throughout the country. This is an all time record and will facilitate timely execution of projects during the working season.

Some of the important infrastructure projects which have been sanctioned in the current financial year are:

A. Heritage Destinations/Circuits

…

III. The project of Development of Mahanadi Central Heritage (Rs.3.94 crore) has been sanctioned. In this project Jetties, River Bank, Nature Trail, picnic area, etc. will be developed at various places along the river to enhance the experience of visitors to these destinations.

…

C. Rural Tourism

[Note: Its not clear if the “Mahanadi Central Heritage” project covers parts of Orissa or not.]

The Ministry has launched the redesigned website www.exploreruralindia.org which is very visitor friendly. 36 sites are being developed in collaboration with UNDP for Rural Tourism in various States. 15 sites have been completed and these places are ready for marketing from 31^st October, 2007. These projects will facilitate revival of art & craft, encouragement to local skills and pride in diversity.

The list of 36 is given at http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2006/aug06/r2006082235.pdf. It has two locations from Orissa: Pipli and Raghurapur. The above document also has a larger list of 77 locations which has 6 locations from Orissa. Those six are: Raghurajpur, Pipli, Khiching, Barpali, Hirapur and Padmanavpur.

E. Eco tourism

II. The project of development of Satkosia in Orissa (Rs. 4.25 crore) has been sanctioned in which Interpretation Centre, Landscaping, Elephant camps, Trekking park, Watch Towers and parking facilities, etc. are proposed to be developed.