A brief description of the program is given here and here. Following are some excerpts.
About PMRDF The Ministry of Home Affairs has identiï¬ed 60 districts of the country as Left Wing Extremism (LWE) districts. The Government of India has launched a special programme in these districts called Integrated Action Plan (IAP). On 13th of September, Union Minister of Rural Development Mr. Jairam Ramesh announced a scheme of PM’s Rural Development Fellows for deploying young professionals in each of the IAP districts to assist the District Collector. Mission PMRDFs will basically function as development facilitators, they will assist the Collector and his/her colleagues in each of the IAP districts and provide them with the necessary analysis of situations and how they should be handled. The fellows would actively pursue a district programming approach following three key strategies given below:
• Strengthen the district resource base for programming by finding ways of resourcing all the planned activities and rational budgeting.
• Establish or strengthen systems by exploring alternative ways of delivering services to reach the most deprived communities.
• Trigger processes which would support the changes that have been envisioned in this approach (e.g. village planning).
This would be complemented by a set of supportive actions such as building the capacity of district and block officials; triggering district-wide social mobilization processes particularly among the youth; achieve a ground swell of support and build strong relationships with the Panchayats.
The number of districts is now 78 instead of 60. Each of these districts will have two fellows. 18 of those districts are in Odisha. They are listed below. We welcome the 36 fellows that will be working in those districts in Odisha and will be happy to help them in any way possible.
The initial list of 83 Left Wing Extremism (LWE) affected districts under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme is at http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/LWE-aftdDist-131210.pdf. A jpg copy is given below.
In the 83 SRE districts all the expenses incurred on security in these districts are reimbursed by the MHA. These districts were identified after a survey where Maoist violence incidents are more than 20 percent of all the incidents in that district.
As per a recent news item in Pioneer, four more districts from Odisha have been included in this list. They are: Nuapada, Bargarh, Bolangir and Kalahandi.
Besides the LWE SRE scheme, there is an Integrated Action Plan for Backward and Tribal districts. Originally there were sixty such districts out of which:
(c) As per a recent news item in Pioneer, three more districts from Odisha have been included in this list. They are: Ganjam, Nayagarh and Jajpur.
In total there are 14 districts from Odisha that are covered under the IAP. They are: Balangir, Deogarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sonepur.
In total, 20 of Odisha’s 30 districts are now covered under these schemes. Following is the list.
Balangir (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Baragarh (LWE SRE)
Deogarh (IAP, LWE SRE)
Dhenkanal (LWE SRE)
Gajapati (IAP, LWE SRE)
Ganjam (IAP, LWE SRE)
Jajpur (IAP, LWE SRE)
Kalahandi (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Kandhamal (LWE SRE)
Keonjhar (LWE SRE, LWE SRE)
Koraput (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Malkangiri (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE) (Update: SADP)
Mayurbhanj (LWE SRE)
Nabarangpur (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Nayagarh (IAP, LWE SRE)
Nuapada (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Rayagada (IAP, KBK, LWE SRE)
Sambalpur (IAP, LWE SRE)
Sonepur (IAP, KBK)
Sundergarh (LWE SRE)
The ten districts that are not covered above are: Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak, Bauda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Kendrapada, Khurda and Puri.
In a bid to tackle the Naxal menace in 60 most affected districts, the Centre has decided to start major initiatives there which includes IAY housing for people whose homes have been destroyed and construction of concrete roads.
The Rural Development Ministry has also planned to start a PPP initiative with private companies for value addition in non-timber forest produce in six districts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh as a pilot project.
… "We are actually going to them for four major decisions. First is Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. We are going to allow concrete roads to be built in the highly affected blocks in the 60 districts. Normally, we build black top roads. But on security point of view, cement concrete roads will be done," Ramesh said.
He said 90 per cent of amount for the construction of the roads will be borne by the Centre and 10 per cent will be borne by the state. At present, the ratio stands at 50-50.
The government also decided to make all sections of people whose houses were destroyed in Naxal violence eligible for housing under the Indira Awas Yojana in these districts.
… "For disabled, widows and old age beneficiaries, the district administration will construct the IAY houses. Right now, what happens is, we give the money, yet these people are unable to construct houses," the Minister added.
All the 60 IAP districts would be covered under the National Rural Livelihood Mission by March 31, 2013, he said.
"We will start a programme for placement linked jobs for 3,00,000 unemployed youths in these 60 districts over the next five years. These youths will be trained and provided jobs," Ramesh said.
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.
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.
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.
… the Government of Orissa planned to renovate and conserve eight heritage properties currently in different stages of ruin, along the coast. This special initiative is a part of the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project, which is being implemented in Orissa along with Gujrat and West Bengal with support from the World Bank.
… A special consultancy with funding support from with help from “Italian Trust Fund for Culture and Sustainable Development”, was undertaken to identify opportunities to promote local economic development connected to conservation of the built heritage and to promote linkages with conservation of traditional stone craft and enhancement of the State Museum at Bhubaneswar by LASA – INTACH consortium being facilitated by The World Bank.
… The eight significant heritage sites earmarked for restoration and tourism promotion are Bhaba Kundaleswar Temple of Manikpatna and Baliharchandi Temple in Puri district, Harihardeva Temple of Nairi in Khurda district, Potagada Fort, British Cemetry of Ganjam and Bateswar Temple of Kantiagada in Ganjam district, Jagannath Temple of Pentha and Jamboo Colonial Building in Kedrapara district.
… The preservation and restoration work would be implemented in next five years and Rs.7.41cr will be spent on this component as per the ICZMP plan. Preservation of cultural heritage and monuments along coastal stretch will be undertaken through the involvement of experts like LASA-INTACH. The work will undertake the structural conservation, chemical conservation, environmental up-gradation and illumination of the monuments. Primarily, the aesthetic and grand classic look of the monuments and the cultural sites will be maintained. Any contemporary work and intervention will be avoided to preserve the historical and physical integrity of the cultural property. The monuments are selected on the basis of their architectural, sculptural, historical and religious importance among the 160km coastal zone of the ICZMP pilot project area. …
BHABA KUNDELASHWAR TEMPLE at Manikpatna, Puri
The Shaivite temple is situated in Manikpatna village close to the new sea mouth of the Chilika Lake. The temple is a State protected monument and covered under Orissa Monuments Preservation Act, 1956. The temple is a part of a larger piligrimage route linked with the Jagannath temple at Puri. The temple marks the site of the blessing to the Gajpati Purushottamadeva on his famous Kanchi-Kaberi expedition. The legendary Manika, a milkmaid from the village, believed to offer curds to Lord Jagannatha and Balabhadra at the temple sites. The folk-lore suggests Lords are part of the royal army to bless the Gajpati.
HARIHARADEVA TEMPLE at Sanannairi, Khorda
This twin temple of Shiva and Vishnu is a State protected monument and covered under Orissa Monuments Preservation Act 1956. As the legend goes during the campaign of Kalapahar, the invader, when the Jagannatha temple at Puri was desecrated, the images are believed to have been brought here and hidden on an island, which is about 10minute boat ride away. They were also kept in the Harihar temple for some time.
POTAGADA FORT AND CEMETRY at Potagada, Ganjam
The construction of the unique star shaped fort was commenced in 1768 by Cotsword. The adjoining Cemetery contains interesting monuments in form of tomb stones. The French were the earlier settlers in this place who were later driven away by the British. The local folklore is that the site was under a curse and therefore an epidemic broke. The fort was surrounded by a moat.
The cemetery is one of the earliest one of British Administrators and comprise tombstones with spire like monuments in masonry.
HARCHANDI TEMPLE AT BALIHARICHANDI, Puri
The Shakti temple, 800meter away from the sea coast is under the State Preservation Act of 1956. The Bakiharichandi temple is 27km from Puri and linked through ritual and patronage, to the Jagannatha Temple complex at Puri. There are multiple stories about inception of this temple. The Goddess is believed to have killed Kalapahar at the temple spot. The temple also marks the spot where Indra’s Vajra, Shiva’s Trishul and his anger, in the form of the fire (Agni), as well as the wind and the sea come together.
OLD BUILDING at Jamboo, Kendrapara
The structure is a nineteenth century building that had been used for administrative purposes and cyclone shelter by the British.
STATE MUSEUM, Bhubaneswar
LASA –INTACH consortium; have developed the master plan of the State Museum with the inputs from the experts including the Italian experts. The inputs from Italy would certainly help to make our State museum world class.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal of the Government of Orissa to set up a Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (PCPIR) in Paradeep. This is the fourth PCPIR which has been approved after PCPIRs in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal.
A total investment of about ` 277,734 crore is expected in the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region (OPCPIR), which includes a committed investment of ` 29,777 crore. The proposal envisages development of physical infrastructure such as roads, rail, air links, ports, water supply, power etc. at a cost of ` 13,634 crore. The PCPIR policy prescribes that infrastructure will be created/upgraded through Public Private Partnerships to the extent possible and Central Government will provide the necessary Viability Gap Funding (VGF). Accordingly, Government of Orissa (GoO) has sought support from Government of India involving a commitment of 716 crore on account of VGF funding for one port and three road-related projects.
The total employment generation from the OPCPIR is expected to be about 6.48 lakh persons comprising direct employment to 2.27 lakh persons.
The PCPIR policy is a window to ensure the adoption of a holistic approach to the development of global scale industrial clusters in the petroleum, chemical and petrochemical sectors in an integrated and environment friendly manner. The idea is to ensure the setting up of industrial estates in a planned manner with a view to achieve synergies and for value added manufacturing, research and development.
The Government of Orissa proposes to set up a PCPIR at Paradeep extending over parts of Kujang and Ersama blocks of Jagatsinghpur district and Mahakalpada and Marsaghai blocks of Kendrapara district.
The State Government proposes to implement the Orissa Petroleum Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Region (OPCPIR) under the Orissa Development Authorities Act, 1982, which is an existing State law. The State Government proposes to constitute the Greater Orissa Paradeep Development Authority as the authority in charge of the development of the Paradeep PCPIR.
The delineated region has a strong industrial base with major processing activities at present including Paradeep Phosphates Ltd., IFFCO’s Fertiliser Plant, Essar Steel Plant, Goa Carbons (Paradeep Carbons Ltd), Paradeep Port etc.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL) has been identified as the Anchor Tenant for the Orissa PCPIR. IOCL signed a MoU with GoO in 2004 for setting up a 15 MMTPA grassroot refinery at Paradeep in the first phase at a cost of ` 29,777 crore. The Refinery is likely to be commissioned by March 2012 and should be fully stabilized by November 2012. The Refinery will have a Crude and vacuum Distillation Unit, a Hydrocracking Unit, a Delayed Coker Unit and other secondary processing facilities. It will also have an Integrated Gassification Combined Cycle Plant for production of steam, power and hydrogen from petroleum coke for captive use in the refinery at the cost of about ` 935 crores. A petrochemical complex will be set up at a later date depending on the market conditions.
A Preliminary Environment Assessment Report (EIA) has been conducted. The State Government will carry out a detailed EIA as per the EIA notification.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today approved commencement of an Integrated Action Plan (IAP) for Selected Tribal and Backward Districts to cover identified 60 districts as an Additional Central Assistance (ACA) scheme on 100% grant basis. This is in pursuance of the Finance Minister’s announcement in his Budget Speech of 2010-11 and the Prime Minister’s address to the National Development Council on 24th July, 2010.
The scheme will, to begin with, be implemented over two years i.e. 2010-11 to 2011-12 with the following Components:
(i) In the current year (2010-11), a block-grant of ` 25 crore will be made available to each of the 60 selected districts for which the schemes will be decided by a Committee headed by the District Collector with District SP and District Forest Officer as members. During the year 2011-12, the block grant will be raised to ` 30 crore per district. The scheme will be reviewed for implementation in the 12th Plan at a later stage.
(ii) The existing KBK plan under BRGF will continue as before with annual allocation of ` 130 crore for all eight districts put together. The eight KBK districts have also been included under the IAP and will get additional block grant of ` 25 crore per district in the current year and suitable additional amount under both State and District Components of IAP in the subsequent years.
(iii) The scheme will focus on improvements in governance and specific preconditions will need to be complied with by the States before availing of the second tranche of the proposed additional financial assistance in 2011-12 under the State Component of the IAP. However, these conditionalities will not apply to the District Components of IAP.
(iv) The scheme will focus on effective implementation of the Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA) and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (Forest Rights Act).
(v) A mechanism for procurement and marketing of MFPs, including issues of manpower requirement, capacity building and development of value chain specific to MFPs would be worked out by the Planning Commission, in consultation with the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The administrative mechanism for enforcement of the minimum support price for MFP in accordance with the mechanism so work out will be the responsibility of the State Government concerned.
(vi) The District Component will be administered by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the State Component by the Planning Commission.
S.P. Singh, Sr. Director, DIT, Government of India, underscored the importance of support infrastructure in e-governance implementations. The government of India has taken the initiative of providing this infrastructure and its three pillars are State WAN (SWAN), State Data Centers (SDC) and Citizen Service Centers (CSC).
…The mandate of the SDC scheme is that data centers are to be set up in all 35 states and union territories. It involves an outlay of 1,623 crores over five years and this takes care of the CAPEX for setting up data centers as well as the OPEX for five years.
The idea (SDC) is to concentrate and migrate IT infrastructure in state governments to a centralized environment that provides 24×7 services.
With regard to BC and DR, Singh said the four data centers of the NIC will provide disaster recovery to individual states. A 64,000 sq. ft. data center will come up in Delhi to begin with. Pune, Hyderabad and Bhubaneswar will follow suit eventually.
The aims and objectives of the Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) are to preserve, promote and disseminate the arts, specially folk/tribal arts of the country. The ZCCs endeavour to develop and promote the rich diversity and uniqueness of various arts of the Zone and to upgrade and enrich consciousness of the people about their cultural heritage.
There are only seven ZCCs in the country. Though no ZCC has its headquarters in Karnataka, the state of Karnataka is a member of the South Zone Cultural Centre (SZCC), having its headquarters at Thanjavur and also of South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC) having its headquarters at Nagpur.
The details of ZCCs, location-wise and the schemes/programmesorganised/executed by each centre, ZCC-wise are annexed.
Annexure
Government has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) having headquarters in various part of the country as per the details given below:-
Sl. No.
Name of the centre
Headquarters
Member States
1
North Zone Cultural Centre
Patiala
Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Union Territory of Chandigarh
2.
West Zone Cultural Centre
Udaipur
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli
3
South Zone Cultural Centre
Thanjavur
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Union Territories of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Puducherry.
4
South Central Zone Cultural Centre
Nagpur
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
5
Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre
Kolkata
Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Orissa, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal and Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
6
North Central Zone Cultural Centre
Allahabad
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan,Uttarakhand and NCT of Delhi.
7
North East Zone Cultural Centre
Dimapur
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
The ZCCs have been carrying out various activities in accordance with their aims and objectives:-
I.National Cultural Exchange Programme: With a view to present art forms of one region to another and expose the diverse cultural heritage of each region to the rest of the country, the folk/tribal artistes are sent on exchange manner to participate in the programmes organized by the seven Zonal Cultural Centres.
II.Guru ShishyaParampara Scheme:The Scheme was introduced in 2003-04 with a view to promote development of new talents in the field of music and dance, folk and tribal art forms, under the able guidance of Gurus.
III.Young Talented Artistes Scheme:The Scheme was introduced during the year 2004-05 to recognize and encourage young talents in the various Folk/Tribal arts forms in different regions in the country.
IV.Documentation of Vanishing Art Forms:Under the Scheme, documentation of various folk and tribal art forms is undertaken, especially of those which are seen to be vanishing.
V.Shilpagram Activities:ZCCs have set up Shilpagrams at Chandigarh, Khajuraho, Udaipur, Guwahati, Allahabad and Shantiniketan to encourage various forms of folk/tribal arts and crafts from rural India. These Shilpagrams are attracting a large number of domestic as well as foreign visitors. Through these Shilpgrams, a number of artistes and artisans are benefited and a large number of people are made aware of our rich cultural heritage.
VI.Loktarang – National Folk Dance Festival and OCTAVE – Festival of the North East: All the ZCCs participate in these National level festivals organized every year in New Delhi and/or other places. A large number of folk/tribal artistes from all corners of the country performs during these festivals to showcase the diverse folk/tribal arts of our country.
The idea for Zonal Cultural Centers germinated in the mind of our late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi. At his instance, several centers were set up. They represent the effort on the part of the Government and the people to preserve and protect our rich cultural heritage and to bring it closer to the lives of the people. With each State or Union Territory belonging to at least one Zonal Center, the objective is to foster amongst the people within each zone and among zones, much greater cultural exchanges and understanding. This not only results in a better understanding of our heritage but also brings out the underlying unity of our diverse cultural traditions.
A self-transforming civilization that defies any attempt to freeze it in space and time, living India is a mosaic of varied cultures, layer upon layer, tempered in a history of a common vitality.
Since independence, it has been the concern of the Government of India to encourage the evolution and consolidation of Indian culture by bringing its different streams closer and by making people of various regions know and understand each other’s distinctive traits in a spirit of appreciation and acceptance of the unity in diversity within this country.
The establishment of the Zonal Cultural Centers, in collaboration with the State Governments and Union Territories, is one of the measures taken by the Government of India to achieve this objective.
The Eastern Zonal Cultural Center (EZCC) covering the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Orissa, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal and The Union Territory of The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is one of the seven such Zonal Cultural Centers set up by the Government of India with a view to culturally integrate the states and Union Territories as a part of the program of national integration.
Since its inception in 1985 the EZCC has been functioning as a cultural nerve center, between and among the numerous ethnic cultural centers/groups of excellence of the eastern parts of the country. The Center strives through its various activities to enrich, promote and strengthen these traditions. The Center is totally dedicated to the promotion, projection and dissemination of our traditional culture.
Over the past several years, the EZCC has been able to infuse among people a conscious appreciation of the rich cultural heritage of its own zone as well as other parts of the country through its manifold programs of folk, tribal and classical dance music and dance, documentation and publication, workshops, as well as its exhibitions on arts and crafts.
The numerous fairs and festivals, seminars and symposia organized through out the year are efforts to combat the constant onslaught of the electronic media.
The Center is under the overall supervision of the Department of Culture, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India and is headed by the Director. His Excellency the Governor of West Bengal is the chairman of the EZCC.
The more we try to unravel the mysteries of our own many splendoured culture, the more we perceive the underlying strength of unity and harmony that rises above all differences and distinctions and enmeshes us in its inherent bonds. This is what we are committed to project and promote.
A. The Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex is situated at IB-201, Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata 700106.
The facilities available at the Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex include
Purbashree (Main Auditorium)
Air conditioned auditorium measuring 7850 square feet, having a capacity for over 900 persons.
Rangmanch (Open Air Theatre)
Open Air Theatre measuring 4000 square feet has been built with a seating capacity of about 400 people.
Naat Ghar (Studio Theatre)
Air conditioned studio theatre measuring 1200 square feet has a seating capacity for 100 persons.
Sobha Ghar (Art Gallery)
The air-conditioned art gallery measures 3280 square feet. The exhibition wall is provided with track lighting.
Karmashala-I and II (Workshop Rooms)
The air-conditioned workshop rooms measuring 610 square feet each are used by the EZCC to hold a variety of workshops on instrumental/ vocal music, performing arts, doll making, painting etc.
Kala Mandap
The open air space measuring 4270square feet is ideal for holding crafts fairs and other festivals. Beautiful sculptures made by eminent artists give the place a perfect ambience.
Food Court
The open air Food Court measuring 2000 square feet with its ethnic background is an ideal place for hosting food festivals etc.
B. The Aikatan Cultural Center is situated at IA-190, Sector III, Salt Lake City, Kolkata 700097.
The facilities available at the Aikatan Cultural Complex include
Air conditioned auditorium which has a seating capacity for 110 persons. It is ideal for seminars, workshops, lecture demonstrations and cultural programs.
Dormitory facilities for men/women in two halls with 32 beds in each
Dining hall
C. SRIJANI, the Shilpagram Complex of the EZCC is situated in Santiniketan, Bolpur in Birbhum District of West Bengal.
This unique cultural center provides a conducive and infrastructure to nurture our traditional arts and crafts.
The complex comprises of huts, representative of EZCC’s member states. The huts incorporate traditional architectural features and design.
The question is if the Eastern Zonal Cultural Center is supposed to cater several states in the Eastern part of India, including Odisha, why is all of its infrastructure in West Bengal.
This means the system of zonal cultural center is not working. The GOI must exapnd it to all major states and establish a similar center in Odisha. Odisha CM must lobby for it and make sure it is included in the next five year plan starting from 2012.
… 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. …
Following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=59137.
The Ministry of Environment & Forests have identified 38 sites on a nation-wide basis as appropriate for planting of mangroves and their conservation and management. Of these, seven sites are in Orissa, They are Bhitarkanika, Mahanadi, Subernarekha, Devi-Kadua, Dhamra, Chilka and Mangrove Genetic Resources Centre (Kalibhanj-Dia). Proposals were received from State Forest Department, Govt. of Orissa for three sites viz. Bhitarkanika, Mahanadi and Devi-Kadua for which the Ministry sanctioned a sum of Rs. 123.29 lakhs.Rs. 83.406 lakhs has already been released during the current financial year.
The Centre has approved the development of four different sectors in Orissa including granite through the cluster approach under the Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme (LMCS).
These clusters include the Ganjam Granite cluster at Berhampur, the handicrafts cluster of the Khurda-based Trishakti Self Help Group (SHG), Sponge Iron cluster at Bonai near Rourkela and plastic cluster at Balasore.
New Delhi-based National Productivity Council (NPC) has been chosen as the nodal agency for the implementation of these cluster units. The formation of special purpose vehicles (SPVs) is necessary for the formal declaration of these cluster units.
“We have already taken steps to form the SPV for the granite cluster at Berhampur”, said Santosh Kumar Bebarta, secretary, Ganjam Granite Cluster. Once all the formalities are completed, the granite cluster will be launched, said B B Dhal, general manager, District Industry Centre (DIC), Ganjam. The deadline for the functioning of the proposed granite cluster is December 31 this year. The SPV of the particular cluster could get a funding up to Rs 10 crore from the Centre for setting up of the Common Service Centre (CSC).
I hope the above pointers will be useful for readers to approach people and officials in their local area to pursue mini-clusters under the above scheme.
The second article above says that the central government agreed to this terminal market due to Mr. Amarnath Pradhan’s proposal. I am not sure how true this is as the following call came out in 2008.
Following is from Samaja. Its unacceptable that Orissa only spent 650 crores out of the allocated 1100 crores for NREGS during 2008-2009. The unspent money could have built half of Khurda-Balangir line. The Orissa government needs to do a better job at spending this money.
… IL&FS-IDC had earlier submitted its draft report to the state government in February this year. However, the project had to be reworked by IL&FS-IDC in the wake of the Centre’s proposal to develop an airport in the same area.
Sources close to the development said, the plan to develop the airport has been okayed by the state government and the proposed airport would be a part of the IT investment region.
The airport will come up on an area of about 2,300 acres close to the site of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Orissa which is being set up over 835 acres of land at Jatni, about 20 km from the city.
… The IT investment region (ITIR) in Orissa will occupy an area of 40 sq km (around 10,000 acres) between Bhubaneswar and Khurda.
This ITIR project is expected to be fully operational by 2020.In the final project report, IL&FS-IDC had included among other things an airport, a global IT training centre, a bio-tech park and a science city spread over 350 acres.
The Infocity-II project being set up by the state government on over 600 acres of land at Janla on the outskirts of the city would also be a part of the IT investment region.
The ITIR would be developed in two phases out of which 20 per cent of the investment is committed for the first phase while the balance 80 per cent of the investment will come in the second phase.
The entire cost of the project is yet to be ascertained. While the Centre will provide external infrastructure for the project in the form of roads, the onus is on the state government to acquire land for the project.
According to the project plan of IL&FS-IDC, 40 per cent of the area of the ITIR would be earmarked for the processing units of information technology (IT) and ITes sectors (IT enabled services) as well as electronics and hardware manufacturing units.
The remaining 60 per cent of the area would be devoted to the non-processing facilities like research and development centre, technological institutes of national and international repute.
This apart there would be a central business district, an integrated township comprising social infrastructure facilities like schools, hospitals and shopping malls and external infrastructure like roads.
Minister of State (independent charge) for Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Sarada Prasad Nayak today outlined his plans for all-round development of his home city Rourkela by including it in the Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP).
Addressing mediapersons here, Nayak spoke about formation of greater Rourkela by including suburban pockets like Kalunga, Vedvyas and Fertiliser Township under the Central Government funded CDP. He said if everything goes as expected, in three years the Steel City would get a facelift with a fresh sewerage system, solid waste management project and rehabilitation of slum-dwellers on a 30-acre land. …
The large poultry farm meant for research and promotion of poultry farming in south Orissa had been closed down due to management problems. It was revived and modernised with Central aid. It would serve as a major breeding farm in south Orissa. The chicks produced in this poultry farm would be sold to poultry farmers of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal and Nayagarh districts.
The Regional Poultry Farm is ready to start its sale of newly-hatched chicks from 29 April. … The farm has decided to specialize in breeding ’Banraj’ breed of poultry. The head of the farm, G.Naresh Kumar informed that at present the animal husbandry department is promoting this breed among rural poultry farmers.
The Banraj breed is being promoted to cash on the market of organic chickens of traditional breeds, which are still grown in large numbers in rural areas in an unorganised manner. The traditional breeds are slow growing yet they have a good market and fetch good price in market. It may be noted that similar poultry farms of the State government at Chiplima, Angul, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Semiliguda and Koraput are also being modernised to meet the increasing need of poultry products in Orissa.
In the 83 SRE districts all the expenses incurred on security in these districts are reimbursed by the MHA. These districts were identified 
.jpg){kind=link}
