___________

The following is from http://prsindia.org/corruptioncasesindia.php based on data from National Crime records bureau. The data in excel format is available at http://bit.ly/corruptioncasesinindia.

What does the above mean with respect to Odisha:

• Odisha is number three in terms of number of corruption cases. This could mean there is a lot of corruption in Odisha. It could also mean that the government and people are vigilant about corruption in Odisha and hence so many cases are filed. I think it also implies that people and government in Odisha are not afraid of filing corruption cases. There is almost no individual or group or mafia or … who can do corruption in Odisha without risking corruption cases being filed against it. People and the the government are not afraid. The absence of such sacred cows also means that the higher levels are not much corrupt. Otherwise they would not go after the other corruption cases that easily.
• The 33% conviction cases is comparatively low. This could mean that the bar for the filing of the cases is low. It could also mean that the agencies that are supposed to participate in the conviction process are not very efficient or are themselves corrupt. On the other hand Odisha is way ahead of all the other states in terms of the value of the property recovered. That speaks well of the agencies that participate in the conviction and property recovery process.
• Taking all the facts together my overall interpretation is as follows: There is a lot of corruption in Odisha. The people and the government are vigilant and are not afraid of filing corruption cases. There are no sacred cows or dreaded organizations. While the conviction is low at 33%, the high value of the property recovered points to the government being not afraid, being good at recovering property and suggests that the highest levels are not much corrupt.

The following is extracted from http://dailypioneer.com/333439/State-posts-record-revenue-collection-of-Rs-15931-cr.html.

• Total revenue collection:  In 2010-11 amounted to Rs 15,931 crore against Rs 12,194 crore in 2009-10, a growth of 31 per cent.
• Tax revenue collection was fixed at Rs 11,000 crore in 2010-11, the achievement was Rs 11,206.44 crore recording a growth of 25 per cent.
• Non-tax revenue collection, the growth rate was 47.83 per cent with an amount of Rs 4,748.46 crore against a target of Rs 3,500 crore.
• The target of revenue collection for 2011-12 was fixed at Rs 19,000 crore with Rs 13,800 crore as tax and Rs 5,200 crore as non-tax revenue.
• The Governmental dues under professional tax, land revenue, stamps and registration, excise, sales tax, vehicle tax, entry tax and electricity duties have been included under the tax revenue category while the dues under mining royalty, forest and wildlife, major, medium and minor irrigation, water supply& sanitation, interest, dividend and other departmental receipts have been included under the non-tax revenue category.

Following is an ad from Dharitri.

Following is from http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110310/jsp/nation/story_13693720.jsp. 

Calcutta, March 9: The Calcutta Port Trust (CPT) has offered to relinquish exclusive rights to its extended territory in the Bay of Bengal and turn it into a common zone that a competing port in Orissa’s Dhamra can also use for operations.

But Orissa chief secretary Bijay Patnaik has shot down the proposal, made by CPT chairperson M.L. Meena during a meeting convened by the Union shipping secretary in Delhi last Friday, ministry sources disclosed.

The Orissa government has protested strongly before the ministry, which cleared the expansion in the CPT’s maritime limit through a gazette notification, so the Calcutta port can build a giant floating storage (dock) in the extended area.

Orissa claims the plan encroaches on its maritime area and will hit seven upcoming ports, including the showpiece Dhamra project that has been built by Tata Steel and L&T.

The inter-state row has turned into a legal battle with a public interest litigation being filed in Orissa High Court on Monday against the Centre’s decision to extend the CPT’s limit.

But CPT chief Meena’s proposal that both Bengal and Orissa could use the expanded area isn’t without precedent. Many ports in Gujarat and two ports in Mumbai — JNPT and Navasheva — have common maritime zones.

All non-major ports, like Dhamra, are on Concurrent list of the Constitution, which allows states to pass executive orders like defining their territory. But such orders will be finally subservient to the central decision.

“Business can save nearly $8 million (Rs 36 crore) every year if the transloading (from the floating dock) is allowed to take place. Ships should be given a free choice where they want to go,” said a ministry official.

The CPT plans to use a vessel of 180,000-tonne capacity as the floating dock where smaller ships (Panamax variety) of 75,000 tonnes can unload their cargo. Barges (of 12,000-tonne capacity) can then ferry the cargo to final destinations like Calcutta or Haldia.

The CPT plans to pick a private operator chosen through competitive bidding to build the Rs 300-crore floating facility. It will be stationed in Sandheads, 60 miles south of Haldia for eight months a year. During monsoon, when the sea is turbulent, the floating dock will be taken to Kanika Sands, next to Dhamra port and 60 miles south of Sandheads.

But the choice of Kanika Sands has riled Orissa, which fears the floating dock will take away business from the Dhamra port that has been built at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore. The port is apparently awaiting a railway connectivity to start operations and needs clearance from Mamata Banerjee’s ministry to get going.

In the absence of a floating dock that offers transloading facilities, ships are now forced to offload cargo at Orissa’s Paradip and then come to Haldia because of the low draught — depth — in the silt-clogged channel does not allow heavy vessels. The cargo offloaded at Paradip is then carried by rail or road to their final destinations.

The CPT expects to handle 6 million tonnes of cargo a year through the floating dock and host around 80 Panamax vessels. Each ship can save up to $1 lakh (around Rs 45 lakh) per trip as it will be able to return from the floating dock three to four days earlier than it did if it had come to Haldia. The CPT has also proposed building an exclusive jetty to handle such cargo at Haldia at a cost of Rs 290 crore through public-private partnership.

CPT officials argue that the savings in transportation will help trade, which could pass on the benefits to consumers through lower prices.

The CPT has tried to come up with the floating dock plan at least five times over the past decade but has run into opposition from Orissa.

No private operators were showing interest all these years but the shipping ministry’s move to expand the CPT’s area has given them confidence of taking up the project. The CPT has found support for its plan in Delhi from Mukul Roy, the Trinamul leader who is the minister of state for shipping.

I am very impressed by two things: 

(i) the popularity of the Malkangiri collector Vineel Krishna, and

(ii) the way the Odisha government handled the negotiation after the maoist abduction.

I will elaborate on this at a later point, but for now, please see http://ashok.name/?p=181, http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=5030 , and http://www.tathya.in/news/story.asp?sno=5023.

Following is excerpted from a report in Business Standard.

Steel players pay Rs 2041 cr tax to Centre, Rs 1038 cr to state

… the steel sector in the state has recorded an investment of Rs 51940.67 crore till the end of December 2010.

…The 50 steel companies that have inked MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) with the state government have generated direct employment for 21508 people besides creating indirect jobs for 52448 others.

Out of 21508 people engaged in the direct route, 14217 are from within the state and the remaining 7291 outside Orissa. In the indirect employment category, 38122 people from the state have got jobs and 14326 persons have been sourced from outside the state.

According to the state steel & mines minister Raghunath Mohanty, 29 out of these 50 steel firms have begun partial production, achieving a sponge iron output of 6.24 million tonne per annum (mtpa) and steel capacity of 7.79 mtpa.

These steel units have achieved a CPP (Captive Power Plant) capacity of 1062 MW and have spent Rs 61.21 crore on peripheral development till the end of December last year.

Among the steel investors who have made significant investments in the state are Bhushan Steel Ltd-Dhenkanal (Rs 12000 crore), Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd-Sambalpur ( Rs 7000 crore), Jindal Steel & Power Ltd-Angul (Rs 8470.96 crore), JSL Ltd-Kalinganagar (Rs 5367.59 crore), Essar Steel Orissa Ltd-Paradip (Rs 5077 crore), Adhunik Metalicks Ltd-Kuarnmunda (Rs 1740 crore), Visa Steel-Kalinganagar (Rs 1626.83 crore) and Tata Steel-Kalinganagar (Rs 1302.60 crore).

The units that have started partial production are Aarti Steels Ltd, Adhunik Metalicks Ltd, Visa Steel Ltd, Shyam DRI Power Ltd, Sree Metaliks Ltd, Jain Steel & Power Ltd, Eastern Steels & Power Ltd and Bhushan Steel Ltd to name a few.

…The envisaged capacity of all the steel companies, that have signed MoUs with the state government, is 83.66 mtpa and the state has attracted investments worth Rs 2.30 lakh crore in the steel sector.

Following is from Samaja:

On the education side Odisha must ask for the following:

• A campus of ISMU in one of the mining hubs of Odisha.
• A tribal university and a branch of the IGNTU.
• A central agricultural university in a backward district in Odisha, along with other such districts in India.
• A National Sports University/Institute in Rourkela/Sundergarh with a branch in Kendrapada.
• A rural engineering institute like SLIET Longowal, ABAGKCIET Malda, and CIT Kokrajhar.
• An IIM. (If more IIMs are being established.)
• Upgradation of VSSUT to an IIEST.

See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/5859, http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6076, and http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/6091 for the reasoning that can be used to push for these.

Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.

… The first preparatory meet for Nabakalebara was chaired by Chief Minister, was attended by P K Mohapatra, RDC, U N Behera Principal Secretary Home, Aditya Prasad Padhi Principal Secretary to CM.

… A Four Lane National Highway is progressing from Bhubaneswar (Rasulgarh) to Puri (Sipasarubali) with almost half the road will be new alignment. 

Meeting decided to approach National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) to develop Four Lanning of Puri-Konark and Puri-Satapada Road. 

Secondly at least seven roads will be taken up for Four Lanning, which include Pipili-Konark, Charichhak-Niali-Phulanakhara, Balighai-Gop, Pipili-Jatnai, Chandanpur-Rameswar, Bira Harekrishnapur-Talabania and Bira Harekrishnapur-Rahangiria Roads.

… There is a need for creating more hotel and lodging rooms, for which appropriate Government land has to be provided to the promoters adopting transparent procedure.

The following maps show the location of some of the names mentioned above.

One interesting point to note is that Puri district’s area is 3,479 sq. km, which is comparable to Goa’s 3,702 sq km. Population wise they are also comparable. Goa’s population is 1.4 million while Puri district’s population is about 1.5 million.

Past the Nabakalebar in 2015, the Odisha government may think of building up on the infrastructure and try to benchmark Puri district with respect to Goa. It may also consider to make it a special district with some special laws that will allow it the flexibility to become as big a tourist hub (or bigger) than Goa, minus the negatives.

Following is from Dharitri.

The following is from a slideshow in rediff.

The slideshow in rediff has the following to say about Odisha.

Its capital is Bhubaneswar. Orissa has abundant natural resources and a large coastline.

It contains a fifth of India’s coal, a quarter of its iron ore, a third of its bauxite reserves and most of the chromite.

It receives unprecedented investments in steel, aluminium, power, refineries and ports. India’s topmost IT consulting firms, including Mahindra Satyam, Tata Consultancy Services, MindTree Consulting, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Infosys have large branches in Orissa.

Following is from a report in Business Standard.

The Orissa government has decided to undertake 14 projects on the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode involving an expenditure of Rs 6,218.02 crore.

A total of 46 projects, to be taken up on the PPP mode, are under the consideration of the state government, A U Singhdeo, minister for Planning & Coordination said in the state assembly.

… The Infocity-II project, one of the major PPP projects, being planned over 600 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city, has gathered some steam after being marred by inordinate delay.

As part of its commitment to expedite this project, the state government has set in motion the process to prepare Request for Qualification (RFQ) for this project.

"An empowered committee of the state industries department has been asked to oversee the bidding process of the Infocity-II project. The RFQ is currently being prepared. The land acquisition for the project has been already completed and environment clearance has been obtained. The state government has also submitted an application to the Government of India for Special Economic zone (SEZ) notification for the project,” the minister said.

The other notable projects in the information technology sector taken up on the PPP mode are Mindspace IT Park involving a cost of Rs 480 crore, the DLF Infopark project entailing an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore and an IT & Corporate Tower being taken up at Chandrasekharpur at a cost of Rs 140 crore.

In the tourism sector, the Empowered Committee on Infrastructure (ECI) has approved the revised Request for Proposal (RFP) for selecting the master developer for the Shmauka beach tourism project being taken up at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore on around 3,000 acres of land at Sipasarubali near Puri.

In the road transport sector, the High Level Clearance Authority of the state government has approved a proposal to seek Viability Gap Fund (VGF) assistance for the four-laning of the Sambalpur-Rourkela road involving a cost of Rs 1,483 crore.

For the Koira-Tensa-Lahunipara road in Keonjhar district, involving an implementation cost of Rs 392.2 crore, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has submitted a draft preliminary report. This project needs 38 per cent VGF as per the toll rates of National Highways Authority of India Ltd (NHAI).

Meanwhile, feasibility study is underway for three other road projects- Shaukati-Dubuna road in Keonjhar district, Tensa-Barsuan-Lahunipara road in Sundergarh district and Chorada-Duburi road in Dhenkanal  Jajpur.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

…  A high level delegation of the state government which was recently on a visit to Pune, the hub of the country’s automotive industry, has got some positive signals from the auto majors.

"Tata Motors, Fiat and John Deere have evinced interest in setting up their manufacturing bases in Orissa. These auto majors have assured us that the would definitely keep Orissa on their investment radar while pursuing their expansion plans and this is a positive development”, C J Venugopal, chairman and managing director of Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Ltd (Ipicol) told Business Standard.

Apart from Venugopal, the state industries secretary Saurabh Garg; chairman and managing director of Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Orissa (Idco) Priyabrata Pattnaik and veteran business leaders of the state who were part of the delegation, made a detailed presentation to the prospective investors.

We have asked the prospective investors in the auto sector not to be carried away by the negative publicity surrounding the projects of Posco and Vedanta. Our objective was to sensitize these investors who had never considered Orissa as an ideal investment destination for auto manufacturing. Once, we convince the big auto manufacturers to set up their manufacture ring bases in the state, the auto ancillaries will automatically follow”, he added.

The high profile delegation highlighted the strengths of Orissa including the state’s stable political climate, enabling infrastructure, consistently healthy GDP growth for the past few years, availability of cheap and productive labour and low incidence of labour unrest.

It is our earnest endeavour to diversify the state’s investment base and getting the auto majors to invest is the first step in this direction, Venugopal said, adding, “we are making efforts to get investors in sectors like automobiles, chemicals and food processing as the state has already attracted large number of investors in sectors like steel, aluminium, power and .”

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

The Indian Air force wants to develop the Charbatia base in Cuttack district into a full-fledged base station.

“I want to see an air base at Charbatia,” Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told reporters after visiting the base. Presently, Charbatia is an aerial reconnaissance post of the Aviation Research Centre.

Charbatia base, spread over 2000 acres, is now with the Union home ministry. The airstrip came up in the area in the 1960s.

Earlier, Air Marshal J.N. Burma had discussed the issue with chief minister Naveen Patnaik in January, 2010. The Air Marshal had also urged Naveen to recommend to the home ministry to hand over the land to air force.

“Unless the state recommends, the Centre cannot transfer land to the air force,” said an IAF official.

Sources in the state government said the IAF had already given a proposal to the Centre to this effect and wants to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the base.

Revenue divisional commissioner Pradipta Mohapatra said he had already directed the Cuttack district collector to arrange the land for the air base. “They require an additional 600 acres of land. Discussion on the matter is going on,” he said.

The following are excerpts from an article by Sreenivas Janyala in Indian Express.

… Polavaram dam, a dream project for the state and a potential flashpoint involving its neighbours, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. The idea of the dam was first floated in the early 1940s but it remained a dream for the state government, an ambitious venture that stayed on election manifestos. So for years, the Godavari flowed almost unharnessed, emptying itself into the Bay of Bengal. It was only when Y S Rajasekhara Reddy took charge in the state that the Polavaram project was revived, as part of his Jalayagnam programme.

The 150-feet-high dam, called the Polavaram Indira Sagar Dam, will create a reservoir spreading over the three districts of West Godavari, East Godavari and Khammam. The tail-end of this reservoir is more than 150 km away, touching Bastar in Chhattisgarh and Malkangiri in Orissa. The dam will harness 170 thousand million cubic feet water (tmcft), through two canals that spread out as arms on either side: the right canal which will take 80 tmcft to river Krishna and the left canal, which will help irrigate 7.2 lakh acres in the north coastal Andhra districts and take 23 tmcft to Visakhapatnam, which faces a perennial water shortage. Work on the dam has not yet begun but the cranes are furiously at work on the left and right canals.

The dam, a Rs 11,000-crore project, will be an earth-cum-rock fill structure as the soil isn’t rocky enough for a concrete dam.

The Polavaram dream

For nearly 60 years, Polavaram remained on paper, dogged by controversies of displacement. Now, the state’s neighbours, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, have dragged it to the Supreme Court, saying the dam would inundate several parts of their states. According to government estimates, the dam will submerge villages in the three Andhra districts of West Godavari, East Godavari and Khammam, in Bastar in Chhattisgarh and in Malkangiri, Orissa. Besides, nearly two lakh people will be displaced.

But in a state that’s divided over the Telangana issue, the dam has brought together all political parties, including Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP. With the Environment Ministry having cleared the project on September 5, the government is in a hurry to start work.

“This is an ambitious project that will solve the irrigation and drinking water problems over a large area. Our relief and rehabilitation package is the best in the country.

… the state government says it wants to finish the project in four years. In its zeal to take the project ahead, the state government has given some lofty assurances to the Centre, including the construction of a 60-km-long, 45-feet-high embankment to prevent flooding in neighbouring states.

The concerns

Like all big dams, Polavaram is dogged by the dam versus displacement problem. Chhattisgarh and Orissa, the two states that are opposed to the dam, say the project will submerge large tracts of tribal and forest land and displace primitive tribals who are dependent on the forests. Both states say that if the project has to go ahead, it has to be redesigned and fresh assessments and estimates made. Both states have also rejected the Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to construct a 30-km-long embankment at the reservoir’s tail-end to prevent submergence in those states.

Orissa is also upset that the environment ministry has cleared Polavaram when its own big-ticket projects, like Niyamgiri, weren’t.

Orissa says 10 villages in Motu tehsil, nine of them dominated by Koya tribes, will be submerged in Malkangiri district. “A population of 6,000 is going to be affected, which includes Scheduled Tribes and Primitive Tribes. Andhra proposes to build an embankment to prevent these 10 villages from getting submerged. But that is unrealistic. The embankment has to be 30 km long and 45 feet high and has to be constructed inside Orissa. Who is going to acquire land to build this wall? What is the environmental impact? Has any assessment been done? A bigger question is, if an embankment is built, where will rain and flood water go from Orissa’s side? It will end up flooding 100 other villages in Malkangiri,” says Suresh Chandra Mahapatra, Commissioner and Secretary, Water Resources Department, Orissa.

In Konta tehsil of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, 23 villages will be submerged. Bastar Commissioner B Srinivasulu too calls the embankment “a far-fetched idea”.

While there is no political opposition to the dam in Andhra Pradesh, environmentalists and human rights activists are opposed to it, saying it will displace more people than the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada river.

In Andhra, 277 villages in Khammam, East Godavari and West Godavari districts, parts of the Papikonda hills and wildlife sanctuary and 3,000 acres of forest land will go down under. The activists say the livelihood of thousands of Godavari fishermen is at stake and the primitive Koya and Kondareddi tribes in Khammam district would be displaced.

… There are other worries too. The Central Water Commission had approved the design based on initial estimates that the spillway (the structure that provides the controlled release of excess water) could withstand 36 lakh cusecs of flood discharge. It was later revised to 50 lakh cusecs. But recent rainfall trends and flood history predict a peak flood of 80 to 90 lakh cusecs and that could wash the dam away, says T Hanumantha Rao, former chief engineer and UN consultant.

Rao says he is not against the Polavaram project but warns against the flooding. “Andhra needs a project like Polavaram. But large earthen dams are prone to breaches. If the dam overflows, it will cause breaches. Polavaram is located at the end of the river where the peak discharge of the river occurs. Only four other rivers in the world have flood peaks more than Godavari and none of them have earthen dams where such peak flood flows occur,” he says.

Last year, two earthen dams in Andhra developed breaches during the monsoons—Gundlavavu in Warangal and Palamvavu in Khammam district.

Then, there is the debate over the height of the dam. While Orissa and Chhattisgarh are objecting to the proposed 150-feet-high dam, Andhra says the purpose of the dam is defeated if it is anything less.

Following are presentations given by the Odisha delegation that visited US during June-July 2010.

• 2010 Industry Status. (4.2MB)
• 2010 Port Status. (3.7MB)
• 2010 Culture and Education scenario. (1.9MB)
• 2010 Higher Education Opportunities. (250 KB)

Following is a from an article in tathya.in.

The Government of Odisha and JSL Stainless Ltd. has jointly taken up a detailed Archaeological study for preservation of the 700 years old ancient Sisupalgarh site. 

The old fortified city is to be developed into an Archaeological park and have it woven among the other well known tourist places of Odisha.

… The details of this project will be taken up either on a PPP mode or on a JV mode with ASI, the decision will be taken by the Government of Odisha. 

The preliminary estimation of the project is about Rs.170crores which includes reviving the entire ancient archaeological area with construction of public utility services, parking area, a museum, light & sound, ticket counter, plantation etc. 

The idea basically is to preserve and turn it into one of the world’s great historical monument of the country, said Mr.Mohanty, Resident Director JSL.

Although there are tons of newsreports on the Saxena Committee report on Vedanta which quote extensively from the allegations of the committee there is very little (and mostly soundbites) from the perspective of the Odisha government and Vedanta.

The following by Nilmadhab Mohanty (a senior Fellow, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, New Delhi) is from http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/aug/25/slide-show-1-a-few-disturbing-questions-in-the-vedanta-issue.htm. I am not sure I agree with all the points mentioned below. But it is one of the few articles that is from the other side and hence worth pondering.

The decision of Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh not to grant Stage II forest clearance to the proposal of the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) for bauxite mining in Niyamgiri in Orissa has been welcomed in many circles, in particular by the environmental activists, for the protection it will provide to an ecologically sensitive area of the country and to the Kondh tribes (and Dalits) living in the area.

There are, however a few disturbing questions that need to be answered by the ministry in order to buttress the minister’s claim that the decision was an objective one with no prejudice or politics influencing it.

First, the manner and time-line followed in the decision-making. The Orissa state government seems to have applied for final clearance in August 2009.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has been deliberating the proposal at least since November 2009. In addition to the information submitted by the State and the central government’s own agencies, it had the benefit of the recommendations made by a three-member expert group which submitted its report in February 2010.

FAC then asks for yet another committee under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, which is the nodal agency in the central government for tribal rights. The environment minister, however, appoints his own committee (the Saxena Committee) in the last week of June 2010.

Then the pace quickens: The environment minister writes to the law ministry on July 19 to obtain the Attorney General’s opinion if the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) apply its mind and decide in the light of the Supreme Court’s earlier decision giving forest clearance.

The AG replies promptly on the following day; Saxena submits report on August 16, FAC deliberates without much loss of time and submits recommendations on August 23, and the minister announces his decision with a 20-page reasoned order on August 24, 2010!

The must be a record in governmental working! The affected party, namely the Orissa government, is hardly given any chance to given an explanation to the MoEF.

In fact, the hapless Orissa officials seem to have met the minister on August 24 when he was in a tearing hurry to announce his decision!

Second, OMC’s proposal for forest clearance for the Niyamgiri bauxite mines is separate and distinct from Vedanta Aluminium Ltd’s (VAL) aluminum refinery project, although bauxite is meant for the refinery. Why have these two cases been mixed up in the minister’s order?

Forest clearance is a statutory requirement under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 and the FAC was deliberating on the subject on the request made by OMC/Orissa government and the minister is within his rights to act on their recommendation.

If VAL violated the conditions of its approval or even the Environment Protection Act, it could have been proceeded against separately.

After all, the MoEF’s eastern regional office had sent its communication reporting violations in May 2010. By combining the two issues the ministry gave the unfortunate impression that it was targetting Vedanta rather than dealing with forest clearance for Niyamgiri mines.

One of the major issues raised by the Saxena Committee and endorsed by the minister is the potential ecological and human costs of the mining project.

In fact, this is an issue which is relevant not so much during forest clearance procedure but more appropriately during the impact assessment study under the Environment Protection Act.

For Niyamgiri both ‘in principle’ forest clearance and environmental clearance had been given. Besides, the ‘in principle’ approval was given in October 2007, a month before the Supreme Court’s order on the subject.

Did the MoEF discover the ecological and human costs only after receiving the Saxena Committee report?

The main thrust of the Saxena Committee report and about the only valid reason for denying final forest clearance for the Niyamgiri mines appears to be the alleged non-recognition of the forest rights of the tribals and absence of consent from the concerned communities for diversion of forest land.

There seem to be a few complications on this issue. For one the Saxena Committee has given very liberal and wide-ranging definitions of ‘forest’ and ‘forest rights’ as per its interpretation of the Forest Rights Act. It is another matter that the interpretation of statutes is a responsibility of the courts, not of a committee appointed by a minister!

The Saxena Committee, for example, defines ‘forest’ to include ‘forest dwellers’ as well as ‘trees and wildlife’, literally overturning the Apex Court’s definition of ‘forest’ in the famous Godavarman case.

It also interprets communal and habitat rights of the primitive tribal groups to extend beyond their areas of residence to cover the entire eco-system.

Since the Forest Rights Act is a new piece of legislation these issues will need to be settled by the courts in due course of time, keeping in view the practicability of implementation.

In any case, the Orissa officials seem to have argued that they had complied with the legal requirements of the legislation (which, by the way, came long after the mining proposal was mooted) to the best of their ability.

Surely, Saxena and the MoEF cannot both be the prosecutor and the judge on this matter!

Also, what about development — both of minerals, which are the nation’s dormant resources, and the tribal groups, who inhabit the area?

 

From the Saxena Committee report (which is silent on this subject), it would appear that Mr Saxena would like them to continue as ‘forest dwellers’ in perpetuity so that they continue to enjoy their ‘forest rights’, living on roots and herbs and we continue showcasing their primitive tribal identity and abject poverty nationally and internationally!

Finally, what happens to the considerable investment that has gone into the industry?

Environmental and forest clearance procedures are about balancing the needs of development with those of conservation. To the extent possible the project proponents, including the state government, should be given an opportunity to correct the deficiencies. (After all it is the state government, not OMC/Sterlite-Vedanta, that has to settle the forest rights).

It is true that in extreme cases permission will have to be denied but that should have been before the start of the refinery when the required clearances were given.

To do so now will be unfair and damaging to the government’s reputation for objectivity.

Following is from Sreelatha Menon’s article in Business Standard regarding what violations the environment ministry claimed that occurred. 

The Saxena Committee has drawn up a litany of infractions at Niyamgiri by both Vedanta and the Orissa government.

The road leading up to the Centre’s denial of permission to Vedanta Alumina Ltd to mine for bauxite in the Niyamagiri hills of Lanjigarh has been lined with gross violations and misrepresentation by both the company and the state government of Orissa.

The NC Saxena Committee, set up by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, details the manner in which laws have been flagrantly flouted to facilitate a project that has been aggressively opposed by tribal groups in the area.

The panel’s findings show that the Forest Rights Act, Forest Conservation Act, Environment Protection Act as well as Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, which applies to scheduled tribes covered under Schedule V of the Constitution, have been the main casualties as far as the Vedanta project is concerned.

The alleged breach of laws by the company in collusion with the state government and made possible by the Centre’s neglect resulted in the company obtaining illegal possession of 26 hectares of village forest land without ever obtaining appropriate clearances. It was on the verge of launching mining operations the moment it received forest clearance, jeopardising not only the life and culture of the indigenous tribal groups, which are protected under Schedule V, but also in contempt of a statute expressly designed to empower tribal communities: the Forest Rights Act.

Felling the Forest Rights Act: The most blatant violation, the Saxena panel states, has been that of legislation drawn up specifically to give forest dwellers a voice. It also gives them the authority to agree or not to a project that affects the forests they lived in. In the case of the Vedanta project, the law just did not seem to exist. The state government chose not to consult gram sabhas of the villages or to issue any statement on their response to the Centre.

And in spite of this, 26 hectares of forest land has been in the possession of the company’s refinery and forest clearance for more forest land was pending for the mining project.

How PESA was ignored : According to the Saxena Committee, PESA , there was scant regard for the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas ) when it came to pushing the proposed mining lease for Vedanta. Indeed, the state government blatantly violated it.

This Act requires the authorities to consult elected village bodies such as a panchayat or Gram Sabha before the acquisition of land for any development projects located in tribal territories listed under Schedule V. Authorities also have to consult the Gram Sabha or Panchayat before resettling and rehabilitating those affected by such projects. None of this was done.

Stolen forests: The Saxena report lists several alleged irregularities by Vedanta in Niyamagiri. Occupation of village forest land for the construction of its refinery tops the list. On August 16, 2004, Vedanta Alumina submitted a proposal for the appropriation of 58.943 ha of forest land — 26.123 ha to set up a refinery at Lanjigarh and the remaining for a conveyor belt and a road to the mining site. The forest lands required for the refinery, in a number of small patches, traditionally belonged to the tribal and other communities in neighbouring villages.

However, while filing for environmental clearance on March 19, 2003, the company claimed that no forest land was needed and that there were no reserve forests within 10 km of the proposed refinery. The Saxena Committee says this claim was patently false, since the reserve forests are less than 2 km from the refinery site. Even the factory is located on forest land belonging to the villagers.

The Environment Ministry accorded environmental clearance to the refinery on September 22, 2004, on the basis that the project did not involve appropriation of forest lands. Since this clearance was acquired by submitting false information, it is invalid and should be revoked, the committee headed by Saxena had recommended.

EPA violations: The report also finds the company guilty of violating mandates of the Environment Protection Act (EPA). Environmental impact assessments required under the EPA are inadequate and do not examine the full implications of the refinery and mining project on the environment, particularly those related to hydrology. The report says no effort was made in the Vedanta mining project (and aluminium refinery) to solicit the informed consent of affected villages.

It says “the required number of public hearings’’ were not held and the” Environmental impact assessments, which contain data essential for informed decision-making and consent, were not made available. Even critical information, such as the fact that the project would occupy their village forest lands, was not disclosed.’’

In a 2003 public hearing, no member of the affected Dongaria Kondh tribe was recorded as being present—a basic violation of their right to consultation and informed consent. Besides suffering from the same shortcomings as the 2003 public hearings, a public hearing in 2009 for refinery expansion distorted and reinterpreted the proceedings: the official minutes of the meeting record that the project met with widespread community support, even though only one person out of 27 spoke in favour of the project.

Violator and polluter, too: When the environment ministry granted environmental clearance to the aluminium refinery, it was subject to strict compliance and identified a list of other key conditions for management of waste from the refinery. It also required that the company strictly adhere to the stipulations made by the Orissa State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB).

But in the course of the refinery’s operations between 2006 and 2009, Vedanta Alumina repeatedly failed to adhere to these requirements. Between 2006 and 2009, the OSPCB documented numerous instances whereby the company had failed to put in place adequate pollution control measures to meet not only its own conditions, but also those of the Environment Ministry. OSPCB findings indicate that the company commenced operations without the necessary systems to adequately manage waste and pollution. Some processing and waste management systems were not built or operated in conformity with applicable regulatory requirements.

Expansion without clearance: The most shocking violation on the part of the company has been its six-fold expansion of the refinery without even obtaining clearance from the ministry. It had received sanction to set up a capacity of 1 million tonnes, but it has gone on to expand to 6 million tonnes without any approvals. This was in spite OSPCB strictures to its January 12, 2009 memo, asking the company to immediately cease construction related to expansion of the refinery as it had not obtain the required permissions, including the environmental clearance.

Tribal groups, which have been fighting on behalf of the Dongaria Kondhs, are now finding these violations, especially Vedanta’s illegal possession of 26 hectares of forest land, as the starting point for the second part of their struggle. Says Prafulla Samantara, who petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the tribals: “The report calls the refinery illegal and it has to go. Our fight will continue until it is shut down.” But Saxena feels that the refinery may continue and get raw material from other mines.

The violations in the case of Vedanta have been documented and accepted by the Centre, with the ministry refusing permission for mining operations in Niyamagiri. Tribal groups ask if this report and the consequences would have any implications on several other projects where similar violations have been raised to deaf ears. Forest Rights Act violations have been alleged against Posco, as well as several other mining projects, but the state and Central governments have so far shown no indication of reviewing them, says Campaign for Survival and Dignity, an umbrella group of tribal rights organisations.

•  The Saxena Committee report (pdf) is here.

   

Following are excerpts from a report in Times of India.

Those from Orissa, particularly those suffering from health problems, could have a new address in Mumbai. Plot no V, sector 30(A), Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

… Built over 2,761 sq metres, the guest house, named Orissa Bhawan, is a G+4 (ground plus four storey) structure, having 24 air-conditioners fitted to the entire building, double bedroom rooms, three dormitories of six beds each, four suites, apart from an air-conditioned multi-purpose hall, a library, four shops and other facilities, …

… The new facility, built at a cost of around Rs 10 crore, is located adjacent to guest houses belonging to Kerala and Assam governments. "We have not yet finalized the tariff structure, but it should be more or less to the rates charged by guest houses of other states in the locality," an officer said, adding: "To make it convenient for the public, we will go for online booking. People with health ailments can reserve rooms for a month."

Following is an excerpt from a blog entry in the world bank site.

Lashed by heavy monsoon rains and devastating cyclones with unfailing regularity, the state looked for solutions. In doing so, it also stole a march on the central government, whose National Climate Change Action Plan is still being prepared in fits and starts.

… So, to chart the way forward on development in an era of climate change, the government decided to consult with diverse groups —a participatory approach endorsed by the Bank. The commitment came from the highest levels in the state government. The Bank helped by providing global knowledge and expertise, and mobilizing both national and international experts, as and when needed.

Consultations sought solutions for the coastal areas, tribal regions, mining and industrial areas, urban centers and farming belts. Fishermen, farmers, trade unions, industrial associations, tribal groups and women offered their comments. Not surprisingly, the discussions were often animated and intense.

A diverse set of questions was raised: What should be done to control the growing salination of the coastal belt that is ruining farmer livelihoods? How can we preserve the natural breeding grounds for fresh water fish? And what can be done for the fishermen who, with falling fish stocks, are abandoning their age-old profession and migrating to cities in search of work? Then, what’s the best way to stop fluoride and arsenic from leeching into the drinking water? And, if you’re wondering what happened between the forest officers and the mining ones, let’s just say that the forest officers finally succeeded in extracting a commitment from the mining officials to adhere to sustainable practices and greater environmental monitoring.

The draft plan is now up on the Orissa government’s website to receive more inputs. While the plan may not be perfect, it is innovative and home grown, and open to improvement. And all said and done, by being the first past the post, the little state of Orissa has shown the richer states the way!

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.

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 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.