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Following is a big excerpt from a Telegraph report.

Naveen Patnaik today insisted on the correction of regional imbalance in the country.

“National integration cannot be complete unless there is equitable growth,” he said, while participating in the deliberations of the sub-committee of National Integration Council at New Delhi today.

Historically, the eastern region has not been able to develop as fast as some of the other regions of the country. Enormous resources are required to improve the infrastructure of this region in the form of roads, railways, ports and power.

Without such infrastructure this region cannot attract the kind of investment that would be required for a holistic growth of the national economy, argued Patnaik.

“This may ultimately lead to marginalisation of these regions which would be detrimental to national integration,” he said.

The committee accepted his suggestion and agreed to include this as an agenda of the meeting of the National Integration Council that is going to take place shortly. Naveen also observed that it is equally important to develop human resource of the backward region for the people of those areas to reap the benefits of economic growth. He stressed the need for enrichment of the social capital of the states.

“The country should be prepared to invest in education, including technical education, health, sanitation and governance with special emphasis on the eastern region of the country,” he said.

Patnaik further offered to host the meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council at Bhubaneswar, which was accepted by Union home minister Shivraj Patil, who chaired the meeting today.

Following are excerpts from a report in New Indian Express.

The State Government has prepared a Rs 850-crore draft project proposal under the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) for placing before the Centre for funding. The objective of the mission is to increase production and productivity of rice and pulses in 21 of 30 districts of the State in a sustainable manner.

The other objectives are to enhance farm level economy, restore confidence among farmers and create employment opportunities.

While 15 districts will be covered under NFSM for rice, 10 districts have been chosen for increased production of pulses. While Balangir, Kalahandi, Keonjhar and Nayagarh will be covered under the mission both in rice and pulses, the districts covered under NFSM in pulses include Bargarh, Cuttack, Ganjam, Khurda, Puri and Rayagada.

The project, to be implemented during the 11th Plan period , is expected to cover 20 lakh hectares for rice cultivation and 13.57 lakh hectares for pulses. The State has planned to increase yield of rice from 1,690 kg per hectare in 2007-08 to 2,095 kg per hectare by 2011-12 in the mission districts.

The estimated production of rice in the mission districts will increase from 33 lakh tonnes to 42 lakh tonnes. It has projected to enhance the productivity of pulses from 478 kg per hectare in 2007-08 to 594 kg per hectare in 2011-12. The low yield of rice in the State is due to several factors.

While more cultivable areas are under rainfed conditions, the kharif and rabi crops are totally dependent on monsoon rains. Lack of farm mechanisation, improved technology, training of farmers, soil management, pest management and non-availability of quality seeds are the other factors for low productivity.

The Centre will provide full financial assistance and the fund will be utilised for introduction of hybrid seeds, scientific management of problematic soil, pest management, farm mechanisation, training of farmers, Agriculture Director Arabinda Padhee said. The Government has projected to spend Rs 650 crore for rice production and Rs 200 crore for improved farming of pulses.

Following is from a report in the Statesman:

The industries secretary Mr A Dalwai will hold the additional charge of the office of the chairman, IDCOL,Bhubaneswar, while Mr Tuhin Kanta Pandey has been appointed as the transport commissioner.

Mr Pradipta Mohapatra has been appointed as the resident commissioner, government of Orissa, New Delhi against the vacant post.

Mr AK Meena, at present, MD, IPICOL has also appointed as the Managing Director, IDCOL in addition to his own duties.

On the advice of the Orissa Public Service Commission, the state government today promoted several OAS officers (Senior Grade in Supertime Scale) to OAS (Superior Administrative Grade) on adhoc basis with a scale of payment of Rs.15,100-400-19,500.

The OAS officers who received the promotion to the superior administrative grade are Mr Anirudha Rout, Mr Bipin Bihari Naik, Mr Siba Prasad Mishra, Mr Gyanaranjan Dash, Mr Narayan Chandra Jena, Mr Bichitranananda Das and Mr Bhabani Sankar Panda.

Mr Gangadhar Singh, the collector of Kandhamal has been appointed as the additional secretary, higher education department, while Mr Hrusikesh , presently the additional secretary, law department has been posted as collector in Bhadrak.

Following is an excerpt from a Telegraph report.

Sukinda valley in Orissa�s Jajpur is one of the most polluted places in the world, according to a report by the US-based Blacksmith Institute.

The institute provides solutions to pollution-related problems.

From India, Sukinda has ranked fourth and Vapi, a 400km industrial belt in Gujarat, is fifth on the list of 10 most polluted places.

The valley, about 140km from here, is spread across Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts and has the largest chrome ore deposit in the country — 97 per cent of India�s reserves. Mining is done by the opencast method.

According to the report, �12 mines continue to operate without any environmental management plans and over 30 million tonnes of waste rock are spread over the surrounding areas. The mines discharge untreated water into the river. This area is also flood-prone, resulting in further contamination of the waterways.�

The problem is �beyond the means of the state to solve�.

Environmentalists said the report is damning evidence of the impact rampant mining has on Orissa.

… However, chairman of Orissa State Pollution Control Board L.N. Patnaik described the report as �silly�. �I see a lot of personal agenda behind the report. It is a design to stop mining activities. If there is mining, there would be some air pollution. But to say that Sukinda is one of worst polluted places in the world is ridiculous,� he said.

The comment by OSPC Board Chairman Mr. Patnaik is outrageous. He should talk about what steps his organization is taking, if any, to minimize pollution. Instead of saying that he talks about personal agenda. Does that mean OSPC is not taking any steps to reduce pollution?

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

… Orissa is bracing up for a new addition to its tourism development initiatives.

It is set to launch home stay facilities for both foreign and domestic travellers in major tourist destinations across the State.

Further under the Bed and Breakfast Establishments scheme of Indiatourism, the home stays would first be introduced in Bhubaneswar and the most popular destinations of Puri and Konark.

Indiatourism aims at harnessing about 100 households, majority of them in Bhubaneswar, during the first year 2007- 08 to provide the facilities, which would be expanded to other parts.

The basic objective is to establish and consolidate a supplementary accommodation infrastructure ready to absorb increasing inflow while providing opportunities for the tourist to experience the life and customs of the region concerned, real and up close.

Around 40,000 foreign tourists visited Orissa last year and the inflow has shown a growth rate of over 10 percent annually. With the numbers rising the pressure on providing hotel accommodation has begun tightening and so alternative measures are explored.

… Delhi also joined the list recently and is aggressively marketing it in view of the Commonwealth Games 2010.Any house owner can become a home stay facility provider, if he meets the stipulations – that of providing a truly ethnic atmosphere to the guest while maintaining stringent quality standards.

Well-maintained house and guest rooms with comfortable bathrooms conforming to Western practices, clean and sanitised kitchens, living and dining rooms or spaces along with offering proper guest services are the prime requisites.

The house owner has to stay in the same house too. Interested households would be selected through an inspection and listed by Indiatourism and promote them internationally.

The housekeepers shall be provided training in guest and room services, housekeeping, sanitation, etc, free. The rental would be decided by the house owners themselves and they would keep all the earnings themselves.

Following is a report from Samaja on this. This is what more legislators of the area should be doing, but without fighting among themselves.

The package described below are:

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

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

The Pioneer reported that

In order to expedite works at rural level, the State Government has decided to give more powers to the Block Development Officer (BDO). The BDOs can sanction project up to Rs 2 lakh without getting the prior approval from the Chairman of the Block. A notification to this effect was issued on Wednesday.

Earlier, the BDO was competent enough to sanction a work upto Rs 25,000. If a BDO wanted to give a project more than Rs 25,000 to any one, he had to take the permission of the chairman of the block. The chairman had to make a counter sign on the bill.

Following are excerpts from a Kalinga Times article where former union minister and former Chief Minister of Orissa J. B. Patnaik talks about his contributions to Orissa.

… I had shifted the naval training centre from Visakhapatnam to Chilika. And the Army Air Defence College was shifted from Deorali in Maharashtra to Gopalpur where a cantonment was established in fulfillment of a long-standing demand over several years. An ordnance factory was set up in Titilagarh in Balangir district. An arms factory was set up in Koraput. …

There were no direct train services from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi . There was also no direct air connectivity as well. In 1980, Nilachal Express was stared between Delhi and Bhubaneswar . Direct flights were also introduced. A long railway track initiated to connect Jakhapura-Bansapani and bring benefits for vast tracts of Keonjhar district has been completed this year. To link western Orissa with coastal Orissa, Talcher-Sambalpur railway track was undertaken. Rayagada-Koraput railway line was built to connect Rayagada–Koraput with Visakhapatnam . A new railway division was established at Sambalpur and a new zone (East Coast) was created.

…When I was Union Minister, I had demanded that tourism be declared an industry. When it was not granted, as Chief Minister of Orissa I declared the hotel business as an industry. Later the Central government accepted my decision. As a result, many quality hotels were built in the state. Hoteliers like the Oberois came to Bhubaneswar …

Adjacent to Bhubaneswar city, the Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary was established. For the protection of wildlife, Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary was established along with many other sanctuaries in the state. Puri-Bhubaneswar and Konark were declared a Golden triangle for tourism and Konark-Puri Marine Drive ‘s construction also made this entire area very attractive for the tourism sector. Many such programmes were undertaken to boost tourism in the state.

The state capital of Bhubaneswar was a small city of government employees and its population was one lakh only. The area and nature of the city was transformed. Bhubaneswar became a hub of industrial development and a prominent business and trade centre. Chandaka, Mancheswar, Rasulgarh industrial estates and the newly developed Nayapalli-Chandrasekharpur areas were in for rapid expansion. Parks such as Indira Gandhi Park , Mahatma Gandhi Park and Forest Park were developed in the capital city. Kalinga stadium, construction of a deep lake for water sports in it, the expansion of roads, the beautification of the city with electric lamps, Samanta Chandrasekhar Planetarium, Nabakrushna Choudhury Centre for Development Studies, Harekrushna Mahatab State Library, Kalinga Studio, Odissi Research Centre for development of Odissi song and dance, Xavier Institute of Management for high quality management education, National Institute of Physics, massive plantation programmes to make a green Bhubaneswar, a plant resource centre park for cultivation and propagation of rare cacti were the efforts taken to turn Bhubaneswar into a modern and attractive city. Earlier it was like a small village and without proper attire, it would not attract attention. The state capital should be wholesomely beautiful.

… In 1980, Orissa was the most backward state in the field of agriculture. It is the same way even now. In 1980, a massive effort was undertaken. For a long time, per hectare yield of paddy in Orissa was a mere one tonne, in 1980 it rose by 40 per cent and the yield became 1.4 tonne. The groundnut yield per hectare was two tonnes and from the productivity point of view, it was the highest in the country. The fertilizer yield was improved from only 6 kg per hectare to 22 kg in the year. Of the agricultural land, only 19 percent could benefit from the irrigation system and it rose to 28 percent and by 2000, it grew up to 33 percent. Canal irrigation, tube wells, lift irrigation facilities were increased and creek irrigation facilities were introduced for the first time. Like this, 15 percent additional land could be irrigated and Orissa could be brought into a state of self-reliance.

For the first time, agriculture was accorded the status of an industry in the state and revolutionary agriculture policies were adopted. This enables aid and cooperation to flow in for the farmers just like the industrialists could avail various kinds of benefits and cooperation. Like IPICOL for the industrial sector, APICOL was formed for the agricultural sector. A sum of Rs 20 lakh was allotted for cold storage facilities by the state government.

… In 1980 when the Congress party came to power, the electricity yield capacity in Orissa was very low; it was only 373 megawatts. To improve the scenario, many hydro electricity projects and thermal power plants were constructed. The Orissa Power Generation Corporation and Ib thermal power unit were formed to produce 820 MW in the state. And the Union government also established a 3,000 MW Super Thermal Power Plant. In the later years, India’s the first ever power sector reforms were undertaken in the State. This resulted in putting Orissa’s name as a ‘surplus electricity generating’ state and within 20 years the rate of electricity production became more than six percent higher than in 1980.

There was no environment for industrial development in Orissa then. Except a handful of industries, no one came forward to become an industrialist. That is why attractive industrial plans were formulated to bring about a revolution change in the field. “Rs 1000 crore in 1000 days and 1000 industries.” Whatever was promised came true. Big industries like NALCO in Damanjodi and Angul, Paradeep Phosphates in Paradip, Birla Tyres in Balasore, and FACOR in Bhadrak are some of the big industrial houses apart from numerous small and medium sized industrial units. Chandaka and Rasulgarh in Bhubaneswar , Jagatpur in Cuttack , Balasore, and Kolunga in Rourkela , Jharsuguda, and industrial estate in Balangir were the new industrial units set up. Nine spinning mills, five sugar mills, two oil mills, and many agricultural product mills were prominent among them. Sewa Paper Mills in Koraput, Mangalam Timbers in Nawarangpur, Nicco Cables in Baripada, Powmax Steel in Titilagarh, Orissa Sponge in Keonjhar, Ipitata, Utkal Asbestos in Dhenkanal, Nilachal Ispat Nigam in Jajpur, Oswal fertilizers, Paradip Oil Refinery in Paradip and Software Technology Park in Bhubaneswar, Fortune Towers were also established.

Most of the industrialists who have established themselves in the small and medium industries are Oriya. The creation of a favourable environment for industrialisation in the state has made this happen and a strong team of Oriya industrialists have created a suitable environment for rapid industrialisation in the state. The reports prepared by the Nabakrushna Choudhury Institute and the Planning Commission of the Union Government indicate that during that time Orissa made spectacular advancement in the industrial sector and by 2000 Orissa had became an important destination for capital investment.

For the development of sports, many sports schools were also established in the state from football to hockey. Those sports personnel who earned laurels for themselves and international fame for their state have emerged from the sports institutes.

My Comments: Mr. JB Patnaik definitely has made some good contributions to Orissa. But I wonder if he is being clever in the above piece and indirectly claiming a lot more to be his contributions. Earlier we had listed some of Biju Patnaik’s contribution to Orissa during 1961-67.

<ananta@sansad.nic.in>, <bmahtab@sansad.nic.in>, <deobk@sansad.nic.in>, <dharmendra@deogarhorissa.com>, <jualoram@sansad.nic.in>, <makswain@sansad.nic.in>, <mayfair@sansad.nic.in>, <pmajhi@sansad.nic.in>, <pyarimohan@yahoo.co.uk>, <pyarimohanap@sansad.nic.in>, <rknayak@sansad.nic.in>, <rn.pany@sansad.nic.in>, <surendra@sansad.nic.in>, “BJ Panda” <office.bjpanda@gmail.com>, “jual oram” <jualoram@hotmail.com>, “Tathagata Satpathy” <tatzaudi@yahoo.com>

Tathya.in has a biography of Orissa’s new Governor, Mr. M. C. Bhandare from Maharashtra.

Following is from Tathya.in.

… the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) the Government of Orissa appointed 1975 batch IAS Arun Kumar Samantray Commissioner Commercial Taxes as its President.

For the first time an IAS officer of Principal Secretary rank has been appointed in BSE on August 18.

1983 batch IAS Aditya Prasad Padhi,Resident Commissioner at New Delhi is appointed as Commissioner, Commercial Taxes in his place.

Mr.Padhi known as an honest and hard working officer will have a mandate to collect at least Rs.6000 crore of taxes.

1976 batch IAS Hawa Singh Chahar, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Department is appointed as Principal Secretary Forests & Environment.

1979 batch IAS Dr. Hrusikesh Panda, Principal Secretary, Forests & Environment is appointed as Principal Secretary, Fisheries & ARD.

He is also appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, OMFED.

1981 batch IAS Ashok Kumar Tripathy Commissioner-cum-Secretary to Government, Higher Education is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Labour & Employment.

1985 batch IAS Gagan Kumar Dhal, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary,Agriculture.

1988 batch IAS C.J. Venugopal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary Fisheries & ARD is appointed as Chairman-cum-Managing Director, GRIDCO and OPTCL.

1989 batch IAS Ms. C.T.M. Suguna, Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur is appointed as Special Secretary to Government, Rural Development.

1991 batch IAS Satyabrata Sahu, Special Secretary to Government, Water Resources is appointed as Revenue Divisional Commissioner (Southern Division), Berhampur

1990 batch IAS Gautam Kumar Das, Special Secretary Higher Education is appointed as Special Secretary, Textiles and Handloom Department.

1991 batch IAS Vijay Arora, Special Secretary, Industries and Director, Technical Education and Training is appointed as Special Secretary , Planning & Coordination

1991 batch IAS Sailendra Narayan Sarangi, Special Secretary, Steel & Mines is appointed as Special Secretary, Industries

He is also appointed as Director, Technical Education and Training.

1991 batch IAS Rahas Bihari Nayak, Special Secretary, Planning & Coordination is appointed as Commissioner-cum-Secretary Higher Education.

1993 batch IAS Surendra Kumar, Director, Fisheries,is appointed as Additional Secretary , Water Resources.

1993 batch IAS Bibhu Prasad Mishra,Additional Secretary Higher Education Department is appointed as Director, ST & SC Development.

1994 batch IAS Narayan Prasad Das, Director, ST & SC Development is appointed as Director, Sports & Youth Services.

1995 batch IAS Bishnupada Sethi, Director, Veterinary Services and Animal Husbandry is given additional charge of Director, Fisheries.

1998 batch IAS Vishal Gagan, Director, Sports & Youth Services is appointed as Joint Secretary , Energy.

For a list of Orissa Cadre (non-promotee) IAS officers one can visit the site http://persmin.nic.in/CivilList/AsOnToday/MasterQryCL.asp and query appropriately. The executive record of each of the non-promotee IAS officer can be queried at http://persmin.nic.in/ersheet/ProcessQryERS.asp.

A couple of days earlier the Mass Education minister Mr. Bishnu Das resigned. For now, that department is under the charge of the CM.