___________

Following is an excerpt from a report in project finance international.

Gopalpur Port project has raised Rs12.12bn loan to fund the construction of a deep sea port located in Orissa, on the east coast of the country. Sponsors are Sara International and Orissa Stevedores which hold 50% share each. Signing was held on April 28 among 11 domestic bank lenders. MLA was SBI Capital.

Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=61253. In total there is plan for 140 such centers, of which 22 are level I, 58 are level II and 60 are level III. Among them Odisha will have 2 level I, 2 level II and 2 level III trauma care centers.

Some scheme should be found for having trauma care in the western corridor, possibly in the VSS Medical College.

Following is an excerpt from a PTI report.

the state-run power major NTPC is set to pump in over Rs 55,000 crore for additional capacity generation of 9,320mw by setting up two new plants and expanding the existing Talcher plant.

"Over Rs 55,000 crore will be invested in Orissa for new projects at Dadripali in Sundargarh district and Gajmara in the Dhenkanal-Angul belt and to expand the Talcher plant," NTPC regional executive director for East & North IB Pandey told reporters here today.

While the Dadripali plant, to be built in three phases, would have a capacity of 4,800mw with six units, the 3,200mw Gajmara plant would be set up in two stages, he said, adding land for them are likely to be available in about six months.

The website of Jajpur Cluster Development Limited is http://www.jcdl.in/. As per the page http://www.jcdl.in/about.htm Kalinganagar Industries Association (KIA), an association of industries in the Kalinganagar Industrial Complex holds 51% equity capital in JCDL whereas the equity held by IDCO is 49%. The members of the KIA are:

As per http://www.jcdl.in/app_proj.htm the following projects have been approved for implementation.

Tathya.in has a report on the Trijanga township buil by Tata Steel in this area. Following are some excerpts

Eco-friendly atmosphere, planned township, wide concrete roads, round the clock power supply, piped water supply, permanent eco-management and drainage system with lush greenery are something, which even some of the modern townships in the country do not have.

But the new township established by Tata Steel Paribar in Trijanga in Jajpur has all these facilities and much beyond. …

The Company apart from providing 0.1 acres of homestead land and Rs 2.5 lakhs for house construction to relocated families had several round of discussions with them while planning for their new home at Trijanga Rehabilitation Colony.

While It has provided all the basic amenities like water supply, electricity supply, ration, community space, grain storage facility, children’s recreation park, toilets, welfare office, balwadis, dispensary etc, the sprawling greenery that has come up in last two years is for one to see it to believe it.

The colourful houses with dish antennas besides concrete paved roads with avenue plantation and permanent drains shows the commitment of Tata Steel to usher in a better quality of life for the rehabilitated families in Trijanga.

16 km all weather motorable roads, 32km of drainage, solid waste and garbage management through dedicated agencies has been provided.

The Company has also provided sodium vapor halogen lamps for street lighting.

Tata Steel Parivar members are also now use safe portable drinking water from running taps and consume 500 watts per family electricity.

Youths of Parivar member use Community centre for recreational purposes provided by the Company.

Round the clock health care facility is being provided in Trijanga Rehabilitation Colony through a dispensary and 24 hours standby ambulance services.

All of this hard work of rehabilitated tribals in a better atmosphere has blossomed into emerging township where rural and Urban Odisha co-exist. …

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

… According to the draft bill, a mining company has to “allot free shares equal to twenty six per cent in the company… in case the holder of the lease (the land being taken over) is a company”. If the holder of the lease is a person, “an annuity equal to 26% of the profit after tax” has to be given as “annual compensation”.

The draft Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 2010, also proposes that the mining company has to provide employment and/or other assistance in accordance with the rehabilitation and resettlement policy of the state government concerned.

Government sources said they hoped the draft bill would address these issues through the “partnership” plan. “Their (tribals’) home is being taken away so how will they feel. The point is being driven home,” said an official with the mines ministry.

… The sources said the bill could come up before the cabinet for clearance in a few weeks.

The bill envisages the involvement of gram sabhas or district councils or panchayats — as the case may be — who would identify the families to be affected by mining projects, directly or indirectly, before the commencement of operations to “ensure appropriate benefits”.

“A mining welfare fund will be set up, funds from which will be only for tribal land,” sources in the government said. The plan is to create “model villages”, added an official.

The bill also proposes a mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility document to be attached to the mining plan. The document envisages a scheme for annual expenditure by the mining company on socio-economic activities in and around the mine area to facilitate self-employment opportunities.

P. Chidambaram’s home ministry, too, has come up with a plan to assuage tribal sentiments. It has proposed free power for villages within a certain radius of power plants. “People should not feel that the power generated from their land is benefiting only the rich in cities,” said a home ministry official.

…  Home ministry officials said the focus was now on “micro-management” to understand the problems of tribals. On April 30, MPs from 34 districts most affected by Maoist violence will be briefed by home ministry officials. “We can put things right in the bureaucracy, but it is the duty of MPs to go and talk to affected people,” said a source.

On policing, the ministry wants to deploy police personnel “sympathetic” to tribals.  …

See the New York Times Review at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/nyregion/25dinewe.html. Their website is http://www.orissahome.com/. The cuisine is not Odia food though.

Following is an excerpt from a tathya.in report in Pioneer.

As a royal tribute to the illustrious astronomer of Odisha, Samanta Chandrasekhar, popularly known as Pathani Samanta, the State Government has decided to set up an observatory, a science park and an information centre at the place of his birth and work, Khandapada. The Pathani Samanta Planetarium Governing Body has decided to set up a huge complex as memorial to the renowned astronomer.

Pathani Samanta made his astronomical research during the period 1835 to 1904 without any knowledge of telescopes, binoculars and other modern instruments. His magnum opus Siddhanta Darpan in Sanskrit, which was published in 1899, was highly acclaimed by Western scientific journals Nature and Knowledge.

… The observatory proposed at Khandapada would entail Rs 10 crore, he said.

A science park would need 25 acres of land and its project cost would be Rs 6.50 crore, which would be borne by State Government. 

The article here has a long biography on the naked eye astronomer Samanta Chandra Sekhar, who is otherwise known as Pathani Samanta.

Update: The web page of the architects is http://www.skdas.org/.

The following is obtained from http://www.wasitrac.org/bm/bm~doc/tourism-investment-opportunities-in-orissa.pdf. That document has additional details with respect to infrastructure progress.

Following is an from the site http://www.wasitrac.org/bm/about-us/index.shtml.

Our Mission

To facilitate in building bridges for Washington State and its citizens, with their counterparts in India; beginning with establishing a sister state relationship between Washington State and the State of Orissa in India.  Primary focus being, but not limited to, infrastructure development, renewable and clean energy, education and social services. We will engage by respecting the diversity in both cultures with the ultimate goal of delivering true value of bilateral relationship.

WASITRAC is registered in the State of Washington as a Non-Profit organization.

Following is from the PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=60812.

IFFCO proposes to set up a farmers training institute hear its phosphatic fertilizers complex at Paradeep, Orissa. 

In the proposed institute, the farmers would be given training on best crop practices of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetable and horticultural crops etc. Fruit preservation, fish farming, dairy and poultry, maintenance of agricultural equipments, bee keeping etc. alongwith demonstration farms. IFFCO proposes to carry out extensive analysis of soil samples through this institute for improving the soil health and productivity of crops with balanced and integrated use of nutrients. IFFCO proposes to set up only one training institute near its plant at Paradeep to cater to the needs of farmers of Orissa. IFFCO has applied to Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa (IPICOL) for allotment of suitable land near the plant for the purpose. The allotment of land is pending with IPICOI. 

This information was given by the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Shri Srikant Kumar Jena in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

Following is an excerpt from an article in Bangalore Mirror:

… But few in Bangalore know of Orissa’s cuisine. The food at Dalma is very reflective of the state and its tradition of using local ingredients to cook with. The eatery brings to Bangalore a unique culinary experience with simple, tasty home food.

Genesis:
The restaurant is a famous chain in Bhubaneswar, and is co-owned by Debasish Patnaik and Sanjay Chowdary. Dalma actually is the name of a lentil dish (synonymous with dal). There’s a large enough Oriya population in Bangalore to cater to as well.
 
Signature dish: Pakhal.
Cost: Rs. 200 – 300 for two.
Dalma, #37, 100 Feet Road, 6th Block, Koramangala, Bangalore. Phone: 41660921

… Lead role: Jubin says the pakhal thali is a must to get a real feel of the cuisine. A huge bowl, nay, cauldron, of rice mixed with curd and water that was allowed to rest for a while, greeted me. In some cases, fermentation is allowed to take place. Served with a tomato khatta (like a chutney), potato bharata, bhendi bhaja (ladies finger or okra), and badi chura (fried and dried mixture of onions and garlic), this is the perfect summer dish to beat the heat and stay cool. A note of caution — one person, in my opinion, would not be able to finish all that rice in the bowl — a challenge for all you foodies out there.

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

… Though Tata Steel’s SEZ project was cleared by the Board of Approvals (BoA) under the Union commerce ministry, it is yet to be notified due to problems in possession of land.

“The land possession problems in Chamakahandi and Basanaputi villages will be sorted out very soon. Company authorities have agreed to undertake a fresh survey on the lands being left out in these villages, for the payment of compensation and taking physical possession”, said an official of Tata Steel.

Tata Steel had initially planned for establishment of a shore-based mega steel plant near Gopalpur and applied for about 3,700 acres of land . …

Meanwhile, the company expects to take physical possession of land for the Gopalpur SEZ very soon. “We have already deposited the amount for the land acquisition and hope to get physical possession very soon for construction of the boundary walls”, said S S Routray, senior manager (administration), Gopalpur SEZ project ofTata Steel.

A tripartite meeting was held between the villagers, company officials and the district administration for physical acquisition of around 51.502 acres of land in Chamakhandi village and around 25 acres in Basanaputi village.

This meeting had a very positive response, said Routray.

… Tata Steel, on the other hand intends to withdraw from the 206.685 acres of land at Kalipalli village and 691 acres of land at Paikapada. According to official sources, though the land at Paikapada was acquired, it was not handed over to the company.

Once the implementation of the SEZ project starts, Tata Steel will have 2792.659 acres in nine villages including Chamakhandi and Basanaputi villages in its possession, sources said.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard by Bishnu Das.

To meet the infrastructure needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on a priority basis, the Orissa government has reserved 20 per cent of the area in all industrial estates, industrial parks, industrial corridors and land banks for such units.

Further, the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) will promote new exclusive zones for MSMEs in all major industrial hubs of the state.

The locations where exclusive industrial parks will be promoted include Kalinganagar, Barbil, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Baragarh, Balasore, Dhamara, Gopalpur, Chhatrapur, Raygada, Kalahandi and Choudwar.

Such exclusive zones will also come up near the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state.

… The government has also decided that wherever land is provided to large and medium industries, 10 per cent of the land, subject to a maximum limit of 200 acres, will be earmarked for setting up MSMEs. This will facilitate the setting up of ancillary and downstream units, preferably in cluster mode, a source added.

… Sources said that Common Facility Centres (CFCs), to be set up by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituted for the MSME clusters, would be entitled for allotment of land free of cost at various locations in the state.

… To provide assured sources of raw material for such units, the Orissa Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will set up raw material banks.

The two organisations will act as nodal agencies for MSMEs and public sector resource companies will accord priority to OSIC and NSIC in supply of raw materials, which will be made available to MSMEs at the lowest possible rate.

Couple of months back there was a big hue and cry about how Odisha mismanaged its power situation. We reported on news items on that topic in http://www.orissalinks.com/orissagrowth/archives/3425.  The following news item from Samaja gives a different perspective of the issue. It conveys that what was happening earlier was that Odisha was planning ahead. If that is the case the Odisha government and its officers deserve kudos for their advance planning. Often we criticize them at the drop of a hat; but rarely do we commend them. This may be an occasion when they deserve kudos.

1. Economic Times on 3 more terminal markets in Odisha:

Orissa government will provide four terminal market yards to enable the farmers to sell their produce at market prices…. One of the terminal has already been constructed at Sambalpur with an investment

of Rs 86 crore and three others are coming up at Cuttack, Berhampur and Rourkela,…

2. Business Standrad on MOU with five IPPs for 4800 MW power:

The cumulative capacity of these projects would be 4800 Mw and the total investment is envisaged to be Rs 23203.52 crore.

With this, the total power generation projected in the state would increase to 31100 Mw from 26300 Mw earlier.The Orissa government has already inked MoUs with 21 IPPs with an aggregate generation capacity of 26,300 Mw earlier.

… Five companies who signed the MoU included BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd, Maa Durga Thermal Power Company Ltd and Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd.

JR Powergen Private Ltd would set up a 1980 Mw thermal power plant at Kishorenagar near Angul at an investment of Rs 7988 crore. BGR Energy Systems Ltd also plans to set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Bhapur in Nayagarh district at an investment of Rs 6287 crore.

Similarly, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would set up a 1320 Mw power plant at Birmaharajpur in Sonepur district entailing an investment of Rs 8079.74 crore. All these proposals were cleared by the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) chaired by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik.

On the other hand, Maa Durga Thermal Power would set up a 60 Mw ((2x30Mw) power plant at Tangi in Cuttack district, involving an investment of Rs 296.95 crore. Besides, Vijaya Ferro and Power Private Ltd, planning to set up a 120 Mw power plant (IPP) at an investment of Rs 550 crore at Kesinga (Turla Khamar) in Kalahandi district.

The total land requirement for these projects have been assessed at 4360 acres and about 22,325 direct and indirect employment opportunities are expected to be created when these projects would be fully commissioned. Three projects namely BGR Energy System, JR Powergen Private Ltd, Adhunik Power and Natural Resources Ltd would source water from the Mahanadi river system, Maa Durga Thermal Power would draw water from Birupa river.Vijaya Ferro and Power plans to source water from Tel river.

3. Hindu on preliminary bids for UMPP at Bedabahal:

the government was likely to invite preliminary bids for the 4,000-MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) at Bedabahal in Orissa by April 30.

The request for qualification (RSQ) for the project may be issued by April 30.

This Bedabahal project would be the sixth UMPP project. The government has already awarded four UMPPs, of which three — Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tilaiya in Jharkhand — have been bagged by Reliance Power.

4. Sify on 595 crores for waterbody upgrade:

As many as 1817 water bodies, mostly the minor irrigation projects (MIPs) in 20 districts of Orissa, would be revitalized under the Centrally sponsored scheme of Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies.

These water bodies would be revitalized within a period of three years at an estimated cost of Rs 595.14 crore.

The funding for these projects would be shared between the Government of India and the Orissa government in the ratio of 90:10 for the Maoist infested, drought prone and backward districts of Kalahandi, Bolangir and Koraput (KBK).

For the other districts, the share between the Centre and the state government will be 25 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.

While the design ayacut of all 1817 projects was 2, 48,545.86 hectares, the irrigation potential of an additional 89,110.02 hectares of land would be revived through these projects, sources said.

Most of these projects under the RRR scheme are being taken up in south Orissa’s Ganjam district. About 800 projects under the scheme are to be taken up in the district at a cost of Rs 250.87 crore.

… Apart from Ganjam and KBK, the other districts where the scheme will be implemented are Bargarh, Bolangir, Gajapati, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Kandhamal, Koraput, Mayurbhanaj, Nabarangapur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Balasore, Malkanagiri, Subarnapur, Deogarh and Dhenkanal.

The pilot project for this scheme was implemented for 137 projects in Ganjam and Gajapati districts at a cost of Rs 18.84 crore during 2005-06 to 2008-09.

5. Hindu on Japan giving 150 crores for an irrigation project:

Japan will also give … over Rs 150 crore for Rengali irrigation project in Orissa.

6. Hospitalitbizindia on a mega food park at Malipada, Khurda:

Government of India is likely to set up a mega food park and a marine food park at Malipara near Khurda in Orissa with an area of 282 acres. This information was given by Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Food Processing while responding to a demand raised by Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa at the Orissa Investors meet 2010.

The web page of the e-despatch system is at http://www.edespatch.com/. Following is an excerpt from an article by Debabrata Mohanty in Indian Express about this system.

The system, started by Orissa’s panchayati raj department in 2007 and which has now been adopted by 17 of the 35 State departments, won the Nasscom award for social innovation in February this year.

Through the e-despatch scheme, Das and his team linked all the 30 districts collectors, 30 project directors of DRDAs and 314 blocks development officers in the State.

How it works

Every letter sent by the department from its head office in Bhubaneswar to all the block offices and the gram panchayats is scanned, saved in PDF format and sent through the server to a dedicated mailbox called e-space that’s assigned to every official in the department.

The system generates an auto letter number and assigns the address and mode of despatch for each letter. A computer operator in the department sends every letter to the respective e-space. The moment a letter lands in the mailboxes of the respective BDO or Collector, they get an SMS. The same letters are also sent by fax and post to the collectors and BDOs.

…

After the success of the e-despatch scheme, 17 state departments, including the housing and urban development department and health and family welfare department, are using the system to send letters.

e-desptach is a product developed by OCAC. I am getting more and more impressed with OCAC and its partnership with Odisha government in developing e-governance products and systems that are customized for the environment in Orissa. One of its other impressive system is the:

• e-Sishu (Child Tracking System)

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express:

Prominent steel, sponge iron and mining companies are found to be allegedly involved in illegal removal and transporation of minerals in Orissa. Shockingly, these companies were using the railway rakes for shifting of the booty from Orissa to neighbouring states and to ports at Paradip, Visakhapatnam and Haldia for exports.

Orissa police have booked 48 companies and individuals for illegal procurement and transporation of minerals worth about Rs 54.50 crore by using railway rakes.

The companies and individuals allegedly involved in the illegal activities include Essel Minings, Rungta Mines, Visa Steel, Adhunik Metaliks, Jai Balaji Industries Ltd, MSP Metaliks, Kesav Minerals, Triveni Earth Movers, Ankit Metaliks, SPS Steel & Power, Sameleswar Ferro Metaliks, MAP Mines & Minerals, Jharkhand Ispat, Rashmi Metalicks, Abhijit Choudhry, KJS Alhuwalia, Indrani Patnaik and Sarat Kumar Kodia. …

This is outrageous. If the allegations are correct, these companies should be handed down the severest punishment allowable by law. I am also shocked that Essel Minings, an Aditya Birla company is in the above list.

Following is from its "About Us" page.

Radio Namaskar, the only Community Radio of Orissa (India) established at KONARK ( Internationally renowned tourist place for Sun Temple) to make the common people informative & active participant of the community development process.

It will ensure overcoming social problem through a community owned process through deployment of oriented personnel and sensitizing the beneficiary mass & will enable the general public to have access to each others views and ideas directly through a network of communication and can be able to have direct and immediate access to ensure redressal of grievance as well as finalization of local based issues of state and national importance. This will be possible in coordination with mass media of the state and even in coordination with the elites of the State that includes people from different streams of society who do have command and interest in different matters of common interest. This will ultimately augment the communication and knowledge transformation process in a well regulated but well related manner.

Radio Namaskar is established by Young India, a civil society organisation formed by some National Youth Awardees, Indira Gandhi NSS Awardees & Ex- NSS volunteers those are committed to the cause of social transformation & development.

Following are excerpts from an article in Telegraph.

Congress managers have launched an operation to manage the numbers in the Lok Sabha after the political flux caused by the women’s reservation bill.

The government is working on two tiers to build a cushion in case the BJP tries to push the UPA to the wall with the support of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP, the RJD and the Left. …

… The Congress is also in touch with the Biju Janata Dal for a “limited understanding” in parliamentary proceedings even as the two parties oppose each other in Orissa. There is a unity of purpose — fighting Maoists and clearing development projects — and Manmohan Singh has been generous to Patnaik’s demands of late.

As the current term of the government progresses the UPA will be needing BJD’s help. The Orissa CM and BJD MPs must be ready to forcefully ask the fulfillment of some of Odisha’s important or longstanding demands. But no demand for a "special category state" please.