___________

Following is from a report in Telegraph.

The capital will soon have a mega-tourist circuit for which the Centre has sanctioned Rs 8.14 crore.

The proposed tourist circuit envisages, among others things, renovation of two major roads in Old Town area, construction of a ‘parikrama’ around Lingaraj temple, soft-lighting for eight protected monuments and two tourism interpretation centres.

While the tourism department is trying to revive Ekamreswar, the miniature temple of Lord Lingaraj near Lingaraj police station, a dedicated road corridor will be constructed to link Puri, the Old Town area and Khandagiri via Dhauli.

Moreover, a 3,000-seater amphitheatre will be constructed opposite Madhusudan Park at Pokhariput.

… Samal spoke to reporters after the heritage walk, which was held today as part of World Tourism Day function.

The circuit will aim at facilitating various cultures as the city is perhaps the only one place in the region where three major religions — Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism — have their presence and the Daya riverbed is linked to the transformation of Emperor Ashok from Chandashok to Dharmashok.

… While the mega circuit will be part of the development of the ambitious Bhubaneswar-Puri-Chilika tourism sector, the Old Town area of the city will have a 40-feet road near the temple connecting Kotitirtheswar Lane and a proposed three-acre parking site.

Later, the same road will be extended up to Kedar Gouri temple. These two roads, in turn, will provide a better corridor so that tourist vehicles can pass through the areas smoothly. Similarly, a ‘parikrama’ or circular road will be planned around the Lingaraj temple.

“Apart from providing better connectivity to the Old Town area, the side walls of various buildings and structures will be decorated with tiles of red laterite stones. The concept has already been adopted in various western cities and states such as Rajasthan. …

The mega circuit will also emphasise on infrastructure development to connect various sites of Buddhist and Jain religious interests. Other than central assistance, there is also a plan to develop a road connecting Gangua nullah (through its right embankment) to the historical Kapileswar village. Another road will link Ganesh Ghat near Dhauli Peace Pagoda with the Jatni Kapilaprasad Road.

According to the pre-feasibility report, the state government will spend more than Rs 30 crore on the two proposed roads.

“These two roads will connect Dhauli with Khandagiri and the travellers and tour operators need not take the longer Cuttack-Puri Road via Rasulgarh to reach the historical Jain sites. Even nature lovers visiting places such as Deras in Chandaka or Nandankanan Zoological Park can take this road in future,’’ said the MLA.

“The state government has also asked the Bhubaneswar Development Authority to construct an amphitheatre opposite Madhusudan Park in Pokhariput. This will resemble the amphitheatre at the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya near Rabindra Mandap,’’ he said.

Sources at the public works department said: “There is a plan to construct a flyover over the railway level crossing at Pokhariput for Rs 42 crore. While the state government will share Rs 22 crore, the rest will come from the railways. Once the flyover is commissioned, the road from Dhauli to Khandagiri will become a vital link to various religious centre.’’

Under the mega tourism circuit, temples such as Lingaraj, Rajarani, Mukteswar, Rameswar, Parsurameswar, Lakshmaneswar, Bharateswar and Satrughneswar will be illuminated with light emitting diode based ‘dynamic lighting system’ for which Rs 3.98 crore will be utilised. The project will be executed by the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation.

Hinting at the development of two interpretation centres near the Lingaraj temple, Samal said: “While one will be constructed on the premises of Sibatirtha Mutt, the other one will come up near the employees’ colony.’’

On the proposed tourist interpretation centre near Khandagiri-Udaygiri caves, he said the project would be completed within two or three months time.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to promote heritage tourism at eight locations along the coast line with an investment of Rs 7.41 crore in the next five years.

Based on archeological, architectural, sculptural and historical importance, the selected structures, identified by the state archeology department, would be taken up under the World Bank funded Rs 227.64-crore Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project.

… The structures identified to get a face lift under the scheme included Potagarh (Buried Fort), located on the bank of river Rushikulya in Ganjam town which stands as a mute witness to the vicissitudes of history in Orissa.

Apart from historic Potagarh, the British Cemetery near Ganjam town, Bhaba Kundaleswar temple of Manikapatna, Baliharichandi temple near Puri, Hariharadeva temple, Nairi, Bateswara temple, Kantiagada (Ganjam), Jagannath temple, Pentha and Jamboo Colonial Building, Kendrapara will be refurbished under the scheme.

Preservation of ancient monuments under the project will include their protection, structural conservation, chemical conservation, landscaping and maintainance from time to time.

… The officials of the Gujarat and West Bengal projects along with a World Bank team visited various places including Ganjam and Kendrapada districts in the state recently to review the implementation of the project. Project Director of ICZM (Orissa) AK Pattnaik briefed the team about various steps taken under the project and their progress. The scheme, whose tenure spans from 2010 to 2015, is being implemented in two coastal stretches: Paradeep to Dhamara and Gopalpur to Chilika.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The state government is planning to set up a port-based cluster of wood-based industries in Paradip on the Kandla model. The hub will manufacture wooden products with imported timber and market them within and outside the country.

“The entrepreneurs will set up their units with their own funds. We will facilitate the project by providing land and other infrastructure. The state run Industrial Development Corporation has earmarked 100 acres of land for the purpose,” said industries minister Raghunath Mohanty.

“The beauty of the project is that the wood-based units will use timber imported from South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies. The proposal is on the lines of Kandla project in Gujarat where several wood-based industries are operating. The entire raw material is imported from outside,” said forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra.

In the following excerpts from a report in Business Standard Haridaspur-Paradip and Talcher-Bimlagarh are listed as strategic projects. I hope they are fast tracked.

… Delays in land acquisition and forest clearances continue to stand in the way of completing strategic projects like the 82-km Haridaspur-Paradip line and the 154-km link between Talcher and Bimlagarh, both in Orissa. While the first project is to give good port access to units in the steel hub of Kalinganagar, the second is designed to step up evacuation of coal from mines at Angul and Talcher.

…This is why India, endowed with the world’s fifth largest bauxite deposits and the fourth largest coal reserves, has emerged as a preferred place for making aluminium. Within the country, Orissa is where every aluminium maker wants a presence. That is why the Vedanta group, in spite of being solidly anchored in Chhattisgarh, thanks to its 50 per cent ownership of Balco, with capacity of 345,000 tonnes and then giving shape to a 650,000-tonne smelter there, wants to create alumina capacity of five mt and smelting capacity of 1.6 mt in Orissa, with adequate upstream integration in bauxite mining and coal-based power.

NAY SAYERS
Unfortunately, Vedanta is not able to realise what it has set out to do in Orissa, as it fell foul of pressure groups such as Amnesty International and Survival International and also of the ministry of environment and forests. The Niyamgiri Hills, from where Vedanta’s refinery is to draw bauxite, is considered sacred by Dongria Kondh tribesmen. But why should the company be stopped to take out bauxite from there if it is ready to resettle the displaced people and practise environment-friendly mining?

As a result of the impasse, Vedanta is required to source bauxite from outside, totally upsetting the considerations for hosting a refinery at nearby Lanjigarh. The denial of mining at Niyamgiri is setting a bad precedent for the mining sector. Redemption for Vedanta would hopefully come, with the Orissa government committed to offering alternative bauxite deposits.

There are some recent news on Vedanta’s expansion in Lanjigarh. But the news are confusing. Following is an excerpt from a September 17th report in Times of India.

Vedanta has suffered another setback in its fight-back to expand the aluminium refinery in Orissa after the Union environment ministry had struck down its environment clearance for violations.

The Cuttack bench of the Orissa High Court backed the environment ministry and ordered that Vedanta would have to apply afresh for a clearance for expansion if it wants to.

Following is an excerpt from a September 19th report in ndtv.com.

The ministry of environment and forests has cleared Vedanta Aluminium’s project in Lanjigarh, Orissa. 

The expansion of Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Aluminium’s four million tonne Lanjigarh refinery plant in Kalahandi had been put on hold by the Union Environment Ministry  on October 21, 2010.

… Environment ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) has cleared the project with 70 conditions, sources told NDTV. Major conditions among them are:  Five per cent of the total project cost would be spent on social welfare projects.The company will maintain air, water quality & develop 164 hectare of plant area as green belt.

Others conditions say that the company will also submit rehabilitation and resettlement policy covering tribals, which should be in line with government policies. The company will also be required to submit corporate environment policy approved by its board.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/vedanta-s-aluminium-project-in-orissa-gets-green-nod-178542?ch=kjjbhrkjrhplkmn&cp

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/vedanta-s-aluminium-project-in-orissa-gets-green-nod-178542?ch=kjjbhrkjrhplkmn&cp

Following is from Dharitri.

Following is from Sambada.

The others are:

1. Dilip Tirkey (Men’s Hockey)
2. Prabodh Tirkey (Men’s Hockey)
3. Ignace Tirkey (Men’s Hockey)
4. Subhadra Pradhan (Women’s Hockey)
5. Jyoti Sunita Kullu (Women’s Hockey)
6. Shradhanjali Samantaray (Women’s Soccer)

Following is an excerpt from a report in ibnlive.com.

The single window committee (SWC) on Friday approved proposals for four industrial units, two of them power plants, with an investment of Rs 1,286.61 crore.

… The proposal of M/S Beverages Private Limited to set up a soft drink beverages unit with capacity of one lakh crates per annum at Atabira in Bargarh district with an investment of Rs 59.61 crore was approved in the meeting.
Similarly, the proposal of M/S Essar Power Orissa Limited to set up 4×30 MW captive power plant in two phases at Paradip with an investment of ` 683 crore was also given the green signal.

It is expected that the project will provide employment opportunity to 200persons.

The proposal submitted by Investa Ventures Limited for setting up a LED manufacturing plant and incubation park at Chandaka near Bhubaneswar with an estimated investment of Rs 190 crore was also approved.

The plant will produce energy saving LED electric bulbs and tubes and is expected to open employment opportunities for 470 persons.

Besides, the proposal of M/S Ultra Tech Cement Ltd for expansion of the existing cement grinding capacity from 1MTPA to 3 MTPA at Jharsuguda Cement Works and bulk terminal in Cuttack district with an investment of ` 354 crore has also got the approval of the committee.

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

The government has envisaged an investment of more than Rs 22,000 crore for setting up nine new major ports in the country over the next five years.

The Ministry of Shipping has asked nine coastal states — West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat — to select sites for setting up a major port each. It is awaiting a response from all nine states.

"We have written to all the nine (maritime) states and have asked them to select site for the major port," a Shipping Ministry official said, adding that construction of each port would cost about Rs 2,500 crore.

The 12 existing major ports are Mumbai, the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Kolkata (with Haldia), Chennai, Visakhapatanam, Kochi, Paradip, New Mangalore, Marmagao, Ennore, Tuticorin and Kandla.

… Any port with two or more berths with facilities and equipment capable of handling 100,000 tonne per month of cargo from ocean-going ships is categorised as a major port.

The Shipping Ministry plans to create port capacity of around 3,200 million tonne to handle the expected traffic of about 2,500 million tonne by 2020.

… About 90 per cent by volume and 70% by value of the country’s international trade is carried through maritime transport.

For some reason I feel there is a catch somewhere.

To start with with private parties willing to spend their own money in setting up ports, why does the central government needs to spend its tax earnings on this. It should focus on elements for which private funding is lacking.

Other arms of the central government are trying to sell-off equity in public sector units to get money for other developmental things. With that background it does not make sense for India to spend money on things (new ports) that the private sector can do.

Perhaps some of the readers can suggest some perspectives where the above makes sense.

Following are some excerpts from a report in Business Standard. (Among all the news report that I have seen this seems to have the most numbers. Hope they are accurate.)

… on November 1, 2000, when he opted for a study leave for of years till October 31, 2002. A senior Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) official told Business Standard that according to the study leave conditions, Kejriwal had signed a bond which required him to mandatorily serve the government for three years after coming back.

Kejriwal joined back on November 1, 2002. The CBDT official said that in 2003, Kejriwal was promoted as joint commissioner and was transferred from Delhi to Chandigarh but he never joined there. The official said he went on Extra Ordinary Leave (EOL) for two years thereafter from November 1, 2003 to October 31, 2005 and resigned in February 2006.

This meant that, effectively, he worked with the income tax department for one year after coming back from the study leave, against the bond condition of three years.

The CBDT official said the bond condition outlined that if he quits within three years after joining back, he would have to pay back the leave salary with interest, as determined by the government. “Kejriwal is deficient by two year,” added the official.

Kejriwal’s argues that he resigned after working for three-and-a-half years and has not violated the bond condition. In fact, Kejriwal requested CBDT for a waiver of the bond condition after resigning from service on the submission that he had been working for a public cause — the Right to Information (RTI) — which helped the government.

… The CBDT official said since then the department had sent a number of letters to Kejriwal for the payment of dues, which is a must for accepting his resignation, but he had ignored.

The latest notice was sent by CBDT on August 5. This was the time when the battle between the Anna Hazare team and the government was brewing on the Lokpal Bill, raising apprehensions of a political motive behind the move.

Kejriwal has pointed out that it was not specified that he cannot go on leave during the three year period he had to serve after coming back from his study leave. The government’s contention, on the other hand, is that he is two-years’ deficient in service as per the bond conditions and will have to pay the dues.

Following are some of my observations:

1. The letters sent on August 5, 2011 ( 11 days before the fast) does seem vindictive.
2. But the report above says a number of letters were sent. This contradicts the claim in many other reports that the government did  not send anything for a number of years and suddenly send this just before the fast.
3. The Time line mentioned above:
   • Paid study leave period: November 1, 2000 till October 31, 2002.
   • Bond requirement (as mentioned above): Serve three years after coming back.
   • Served after coming back: November 1, 2002 – November 1, 2003
   • Did not join after was transferred to Chandigarh.
   • Extra-ordinary leave: November 1, 2003 to October 31, 2005
   • Resigned: February 2006.
4. Government’s contention: Worked with the income tax department for one year after coming back from the study leave, against the bond condition of three years.
5. Kejriwal’s contention: Resigned after working for three-and-a-half years and has not violated the bond condition

To sort this out I looked up the All India Services (Study Leave Regulations) in the web. Assuming that that is the right document, it contains the following bond one has to sign before going on a study leave.

So Kejriwal is right in that he resigned more than three years after his joining back date. 

But if one tries to understand the intent of the bond, which is that after going on a paid study leave, one needs to work for three years (this is not spelled out accurately in the bond), Kejriwal did not satisfy the intent.

I am no lawyer and there may be previous cases in the courts that can be used to decide what is written in the bond and what its intent is.

But even if Kejriwal is legally right, what he is doing is finding a loophole in the clumsily written bond statement. Many people who are considered corrupt by the aam janata do exactly that; hide behind loop holes.

Considering that Kejriwal is leading the anti-corruption movement and many consider him as an icon of the country (so much so that if India had a Presidential form of government, and there was a presidential election in the next few months, he would have had a very good chance of winning it) he should not hide behind a loophole; he should pay his dues immediately and move on.

As per recent news, the latest route to be added is KIIT-Niladri Vihar – Kalpana with stops at Infocity, Niladri Vihar, Sailashree Vihar, Damana, Chandrasekharpur-Omfed Square, Kalinga Hospital Square, Sainik School, Institute of Physics, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Utkal University, Regional Museum of Natural History, Planetarium, Acharya Vihar, Master Canteen, and Kalpana Square.

For an overall status following is an excerpt from a Telegraph report.

Dream Team Sahara will deploy five buses for the new route. Therefore, a total of 90 buses will ply in the city bus service network in 12 routes, including those to Cuttack and Puri.

“At present, we are running 15 buses in Cuttack. But as Orissa High Court has given a directive to introduce more buses for the historic city, we are planning to add five more buses for Cuttack. Similarly, five buses are running between Bhubaneswar and Puri. By the end of this month, the number is, however, expected to go up to 15. Therefore, we will ultimately run all the 125 buses as per the plan for the city bus service under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). With 90 buses pressed into service, bus companies will have to provide 35 more buses to make the fleet fully equipped,” said chief operating officer of Dream Team Sahara, Sudhanshu Jena.

The detailed stoppages and distances of the older routes are given in the following brochure obtained from a BMC site.