___________

Vithal Kamats has opened three restaurants in Odisha in Puri, Cuttack and Dhauli (outskirts of Bhubaneswar). Several others are in the pipeline.

The one in Dhauli has the following whereabouts:

Location Address	:	Dhauli , Near Uttra Chowk
Contact No./Email Id	:	0909009351 / dhauli@vithalkamats.com
Unit Manager Name	:	Mr. Srinivas Dalai
Seating capacity	:	Non Ac-60
Meal Price	:	160 INR for 02 persons
Cuisine Served	:	North Indian, South Indian & snacks
Other Facility offered	:	Huge parking, clean toilets for ladies & gents, Open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM

The one in Cuttack has the following details:

The 1,000 sq.ft restaurant at Buxi Bazar can seat 50-60 people and offers dosas, idlis, dahi vada, vada pav and the usual South and North Indian delicacies. 

The one in Puri is at Mahodadhi.

Besides these new ones are scheduled to come up in Konark, Bhubaneswar and Satpada (Chilika).

Hyderabad House has outlets in XIMB sqaure and Surya Nagar Bhubaneswar. New ones are coming up in Cuttack and Bapjui Nagar, Bhubaneswar.

Dalma, restaurant with Odia cuisine started from Bhubaneswar. It now has spread its wings to Bangalore and this month it is supposed to open a branch in Rourkela. The address of its locations are:

DALMA – Bhubaneswar

157, Madhusudan Nagar

Sachivalaya marg

Unit-IV

Bhubaneswar-751001



DALMA – Bhubaneswar

Maruti Mall

KIIT Square

Chandrasekharpur

Bhubaneswar-751016





DALMA – Bangalore

37, 6th Block,

100ft Road, Kormangala,

Bengaluru.

Phone- 080-41660921.





DALMA – Rourkela 

Shivani Complex 

Panposh Main Road 

Near Mayfair Hotel 

Rourkela (To open in September 2010)

Its Bangalore location is getting rave reviews from Bangaloreans. See the reviews at http://food.sify.com/articles/Dalma-235061 and http://www.bangaloresrestaurants.com/2010/07/weekend-raid-4-dalma.html. Following is an excerpt from the later:

Dalma is an Odissa cuisine restaurant and part of a chain that is quite famous in Bhuvaneshwar. Its been open a relatively short time but has become a phenomenon of sorts. Come a little after 12.45 pm and you will end up waiting for place. The food is homely.

… The meal was brilliant …

Hope Dalma succeeds further and has locations all over India. Also, hope other Odia entrepreneurs come up with other concepts and spread it across India. Any thoughts on what those concepts could be?

The following map is from a report in Telegraph.

Following are excerpts from that report.

… The buses, procured by the state government with financial assistance from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), …

The newly constituted government authority Bhubaneswar-Puri Transport Services Limited (BPTSL) today signed an agreement with local transport agency Dream Team Shahara Services to run the services in the two cities.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), the Orissa State Road Transport Corporation, the Puri-Konark Development Authority and the Puri Municipality are the stakeholders in BPTSL.

While 100 buses are scheduled to ply on six different routes in Bhubaneswar, 25 buses will travel on three routes in Puri.

Of the 100 buses, 50 standard buses with 38 seats each and 50 mini-buses with a seating capacity of 30 passengers will ply between Khurda-Master Canteen; Nandan Kanan-Airport, KIIT-Uttara Chhaka, Dumduma–VSS Nagar, Nuagaon-Phulnakahara and Khandagiri-Sai Temple in Bhubaneswar.

Five standard buses and 20 mini-buses will ply between Beach Road-Konark, Jagannath Temple-Master Canteen, and Jagannath Temple to Konark. The frequency of the buses will vary from 7 to 15 minutes during peak hours and 15 to 30 minutes during non-peak hours. The bus services will be available from 6am to 6pm.

“As per the memorandum of understanding, the state government will provide the BPTSL with infrastructure such as bus terminals at the origin and destination of every route. Planning of bus stops will also be done in a phased manner. Autorickshaw services in Bhubaneswar will not be affected. We have already consulted with the autorickshaw unions of the city in this regard,” housing and urban development secretary Arun Panda said.

Panda said: “The fare slab proposed is on the higher side. The actual fare cannot be more than the slab. We will revise the fare based on the automatic fare revision formula, which is linked to the hike in fuel prices.”

… “Today, we have given BPTSL a cheque for Rs 85 lakh. Another, Rs 2.55 crore will be paid this year. We will also pay BPTSL Rs 2.5 lakh every month towards route charges,” said Nishikanta Mishra, chairman of Dream Team Shahara Services.

Panda said that the buses had been purchased for Rs 17.5 crore. “The state government engaged the Urban Mass Transit Company, which is a government of India undertaking, as the transaction advisor. The Urban Mass Transit Company has prepared the route plan and stoppages after making a comprehensive study on the road network,” he added.

The state’s special secretary, commerce and transport department, has been designated as the chief executive officer of the BPTSL, BMC mayor is the chairman and the chairperson of the Puri Municipality has been made the vice-chairperson.

Following are couple of maps extracted from wikimapia.

Cuttack people are unhappy that there are no connections to Cuttack. I think the state has not been able to convince the appropriate authorities in Delhi that Bhubaneswar-Cuttack is a single metropolitan area. In any case this is a start and hopefully soon there will be additional routes, especially connecting to Cuttack. Two routes that need to be added as soon as possible are:

• Nandankanan to Vidyadharpur via Bidanasi, Barabati, Buxi Bazar, Mangalabag, Ravenshaw
• Phulnakhara to Bidanasi via Badambadi and Alisha Bazar

I don’t fully understand how this works, but following excerpt from a report in inbnlive.com may shed light to some.

The proposed takeover of Cairn Energy’s India business could see NRI billionaire Anil Agarwal emerging as the richest promoter of a corporate house ahead of Mukesh Ambani, who has ruled the list for long.

After the acquisition of Cairn India and a proposed IPO of group firm Sterlite Energy, Anil Agarwal, as head of the promoter family, would command an estimated networth of close to Rs 1,67,000 crore, ahead of Mukesh Ambani at Rs 1,45,275 crore, a comparison of promoter family holding valuations for leading groups reveals.

… At the same time, the acquisition would give the Agarwal family double the size of Anil Ambani group (whose promoter wealth currently stands at less than Rs 80,000 crore). The $ 9.6 billion takeover of Cairn India has already pushed Vedanta group head Anil Agarwal to the second position after Mukesh Ambani in terms of family net worth, measured in terms of value of shares held as promoters in five listed group companies.

Add to this, the value of shares he holds in aluminium major Balco and IPO-bound group firm Sterlite Energy, the promoter family wealth of Anil Agarwal group could rise to nearly Rs 1,66,938 crore.

In comparison, the promoter family wealth of Mukesh Ambani group currently stands at Rs 1,45,276 crore, based on the value of promoter holdings in two listed group firms Reliance Industries and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure. Without Sterlite Energy, which has proposed an initial public offer of Rs 5,100 crore, and Balco, where Vedanta group has 51 per cent stake, the total promoter family networth of the Vedanta group currently stands at Rs 1,38,465 crore. This includes the value of promoter shares in Sterlite, Hindustan Zinc, Sesa Goa (all listed in India) and that in UK-listed Vedanta Resources, as also the worth of proposed 60 per cent stake in Cairn India proposed to be purchased from Scotland-based Cairn Energy.

The total networth would rise by over Rs 28,000 crore if Balco is taken at par with its peer group company Nalco, which has a market cap of Rs 25,830 crore, and the group offloads 25 per cent stake in Sterlite Energy to raise Rs 5,100 crore.

Note that Rs 1,66,938 crore at today’s exchange rate of 1 USD = Rs 46.6525 comes to $35.78 Billion. That would put him at number 4 in the world. If a person of such net worth wants to establish a $3 billion university in Odisha and we turn him away that will the height of stupidity in our part. 

People reading this blog must must have seen the news about the Saxena committee (which was empowered by Jairam Ramesh and the environment ministry) report on Vedanta’s operations in Lanjigarh, Odisha.

Although the report reads like an activist team’s report, the fact remains that the laws of the country are sacred and needs to be followed.

It is a different matter that laws are broken with impunity at all levels ranging from the laws reported to be broken by Vedanta to normal people extending their houses and gardens into government land, groups building temples as a ruse to capture government land where ever they feel like, people blocking roads, trains, doing bandhs whenever they feel like, etc. etc. In India laws are broken with impunity and are broken more often than they are adhered to. But this does not excuse what Vedanta is reported to have done. The committee report also rebukes the Odisha government for its hand in the whole affair.

However, one needs to put this report in perspective with what the environment ministry and Jairam Ramesh have found in rest of India. Following are excerpts from a report in rediff.in that gives us some added perspective.

… several industrialists are also upset about what they call Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh’s activist-like positions. "He is taking positions, which are normally associated with unreasonable activists and their organisations," says one leading industrialist whose project is stuck. …

… Data from the ministry’s website show that of the 58 projects that have come up for Coastal Regulation Zone clearance since April 2009, it gave only half a dozen of them the green signal.

Over 1,800 projects are awaiting clearances as of the first week of this month.

…"There are people who consciously instigate and organise people in coastal Andhra against projects coming up in the region," says a spokesperson of a power company,  which is promoting a project in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

"Land availability is a big issue in India. Developers can approach the ministry only after either acquiring the land or have assurances to get the land, to request for the terms of reference to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment study. By that stage, a lot of investment and time may have gone into execution of the projects, and still you are not sure of getting the clearance," says Sanjay Sethi, executive director (infrastructure) at Kotak Investment Banking.

"It is necessary to have more transparent and clear guidelines and checklists for land available for various commercial and industrial uses, with clear maps of sensitive zones, which should be easily available to project developers," he adds.

… To be fair to the environment ministry, there are issues like misrepresentation of facts by project developers and the state, or conflicting reports on issues by expert panels.

In a recent development, the environmental clearances for at least four projects in an around Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh were suspended by the ministry.

On July 15, the ministry cancelled the clearance given to Nagarjuna Construction Company’s 2,640 megawatt (Mw) coal-based super critical thermal power plant at Gollagandi and Baruva villages in Srikakulam.

An expert panel said most of the project land allocated by the state government might be regarded as wetland, contrary to an earlier panel report that the 750 acres of grasslands were barren and not fit for agriculture.

The same expert panel, which visited East Coast Energy’s 2,640 Mw thermal project near Kakarapalli village in Srikakulam during the same time, found the state government had ignored reports on the ecological value of low lying areas of the well recognised Naupada swamps wetland and migratory bird breeding in nearby Telineelapuram of Srikakulam.

"This amounts to suppression/distortion of facts," the panel said.

A nearby project – that of JSW’s 1.4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) alumina refinery and a co-generation plant – is also being reviewed by the ministry.

… On June 28, the ministry directed the formation of a supervisory committee to monitor the influence of toxic effluents from JSW Energy’s 1,200 Mw thermal power plant at Jaigad in Maharashtra, following apprehensions that effluents could affect the quality of Alphonso mangoes and cashew orchards in the region.

… Ten days before that, Jindal Power Limited drew the wrath of the ministry for commencing construction of a 2,400 Mw power project at Tamnar in Chhattisgarh,  without obtaining prior environment clearance.

The ministry has directed the state government to stop work and initiate action against the Naveen Jindal-promoted company.

Some of the other high-profile projects that have been halted include the Maheshwar Hydroelectric project on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh on grounds that the conditions of the statutory environmental clearance were not complied with and the resettlement and rehabilitation of the project-affected families was less than satisfactory – charges denied by the state chief minister and the company.

… Also, many say the minister has involved himself in much-publicised wars of words with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel over the environment ministry’s reluctance to clear the Navi Mumbai international airport, citing destruction of mangroves, razing of a hill and diversion of two rivers; with Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath, who openly accused him of blocking projects;

… But, even his sharpest critics agree on one thing: Ramesh has made sure that no one can treat the environment ministry lightly any longer.

… "This is probably the first time that an environmentalist has become a minister. He is almost single-handedly bringing about a paradigm shift within the government about how to view progress and development," says Pandey.

I agree with the sentence in the red. Earlier companies and state governments were not taking the environment ministry that seriously. Ramesh’s actions will make sure that everyone take the environment ministry seriously. That is a good thing and kudos to Mr. Ramesh for that.

However, as far as Odisha is concerned Jairam Ramesh seems to have something against it. We say that for the following reasons.

• When Odisha was trying for an IIT Jairam Ramesh insulted Odisha with his comments. See http://www.orissalinks.com/archives/286.
• Recently, Hindustan Times (see http://www.hindustantimes.com/Environment-Ministry-puts-on-hold-Vedanta-University-in-Orissa/Article1-542363.aspx) reported the following: "The Union Environment Ministry on Tuesday put on hold the controversial Rs.150 billion Vedanta University project in Orissa following complaints of alleged irregularities by its promoter Anil Agarwal Foundation. The direction to keep the project in abeyance has come within a month of the Ministry granting conditional environmental clearance to the Foundation which is building the university." Now stopping a mine or a factory or an airport for environmental reasons may make sense, but a university?? That too, just because some one complained. No investigation! Just people complained and he stopped the project, when the project was about to construct a medical college!!
• Jairam Ramesh and his ministry recently granted environmental permission to construct the Polavurum dam in Andhra Pradesh against the objections of the Orissa and Chhatisgrah government. See http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Environment-ministry-clears-Andhra-project/articleshow/6233874.cms . Times of India was surprised with this. It wrote: "Oddly, while the ministry had set up separate committees to investigate the settlement of rights under the Forest Rights Act in other high profile cases such as Vedanta and Posco which propose to displace far lesser people, in the Polavaram case the ministry has decided to accept the state government’s compliance report on face value.  The mega-project is expected to submerge 276 villages displacing upwards of two lakh people by some estimates. "   

In summary, while Jairam Ramesh deserves kudos for putting his foot down on environment laws and making sure everyone takes them seriously, people of Odisha need to be very careful of him as he seems to be against Odisha; he has stopped projects clearly beneficial to Odisha (namely, Vedanta University) by using his environment stick, and at the same time has allowed projects clearly harmful to Odisha  (namely, the polavurum dam) even after the Odisha government and Odisha chief minister have vehemently objected to it. This does not at all gel with the actions they took against Vedanta University. There the project was ordered to stop because some people complained. Here the project was given green signal despite the state of Odisha and its chief minister complaining and that too reportedly without any enquiry. 

In 20 years (i.e., in 2030) the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda population would be around 4 million plus. In addition the area would be surrounded by the following cities/towns within 150 kms radius (i.e., about a hour and half away).

• Berhampur-Gopalpur to the south (with a then population of 1.5 million; about 145 kms away)
• Puri to the south (with a then population of 700K; only 30kms away)
• Kalinganagar to the North (with a then population of 500K; only 50 kms away)
• Talcher-Angul to the West (with a then population of 500K; only 110 kms away)
• Dhenkanal to the west (with a then population of 200K and almost in the periphery)
• Paradip to the east (with a then population of 400K and 90 kms away)
• Dhamara-Chandbali to the Northeast (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)
• Bhadrak to the North (with a then population of 200K and 140 kms away)

A little farther is

• Balasore-Chandipur to the North (with a then population of 300K and 162 kms away from the Northern end of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Khurda area)

In addition there will be several port towns other than the ones mentioned above and a few smaller towns (For example, Nayagarh)  within 200km radius of greater Bhubaneswar.

Besides individual CDPs for these areas the Odisha governement should start making plans for this larger overall area. It would form a different kind of megalopolis than New Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata with a well planned hub (Bhubaneswar) surrounded by mini-hubs and with rural areas in between. I can not off-hand think of another such area in the world; may be the readers can point me to some. Please suggest what kind of plans need to be made. (Please note that for something to be up and running in 20 years, plans need to be made now.) For example:

• Commuter trains at frequent intervals and the necessary infrastructure for that. Following are some of the segments
  • Bhubaneswar-Puri-Konark-Astaranga (Puri-Konark-Astaranga needs to be built; alternatively if Astaranga port comes up, then there may be a new line from Barang to Astaranga)
  • Bhubaneswar-Berhampur-Gopalpur (Berhampur-Gopalpur needs to be built)
  • Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Dhamara (Bhadrak-Dhamara is ready but no trains yet)
  • Bhubaneswar-Jajpur Rd(Kalinganagar)-Bhadrak-Balasore-Baripada
  • Bhubaneswar-Jakhapura(Kalinganagar)-Tomka (on the line to Kendujhargarh)
  • Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Paradeep (ready)
  • Bhubaneswar-Dhenkanal-Talcher-Angul (ready)
  • Bhubaneswar-Khurda-Nayagarh and beyond (being constructed; part of Khurda-Balangir)
  • Angul-Talcher-Sukinda-Kalinganagar (being constructed)
• Expressways linking these places
• Fast buses linking these places
• Fast airport shuttle
• Some of these places would be connected by waterways including National Waterway 5
• Express ring road around each of these places
• Co-ordinated public transport in each of these places
• ??

Please let your imagination run wild!

Following is from an article by Nageshwar Patnaik in Economic Times. Nageshwar is a big critic of the Tatas. So coming from him, I give a lot of value to the article.

Buoyed by successful resettlement of displaced persons after five years, Tata Steel, which is setting up a 6-mtpa steel plant at Kalinga Nagar in Orissa’s Jajpur district, has undertaken massive infrastructure development work at the project site to get support of the local people, especially the tribals.

Under its Tata Steel Parivar resettlement and rehabilitation (R&R) programme, the leading steel producer of the country has laid 20 km of quality motorable roads connecting all rehabilitation colonies, besides constructing 32 km of drainage system at adjoining tribal-dominated villages such as Trijanga, Sansailo and Gobarghati.

As many as 300 sodium vapour halogen lamp posts have been installed and pipe water provision made to provide better life to the displaced people living in rehabilitation colonies.

Each colony in the project area has a dispensary, community centre and several education centres offering management and technical courses.

“The Tata Steel Parivar rehabilitation scheme at Kalinga Nagar provides substantially better facilities than the government-framed R&R policy. The government policy provides employment for one member from each core household. On the other hand, Tata Steel Parivar policy provides employment opportunities for each major member of the core house. It also provides training facilities for technical skill upgrade,” a press statement, issued by the company here on Thursday, said.

The release also noted that scholarships were being provided for displaced persons pursuing higher education in professional fields such as medicine, engineering and management.

“An amount of Rs 2.21 lakh is also provided as onetime assistance in lieu of employment. Further, under the Tata Steel Parivar policy, each family is given a monthly maintenance allowance of Rs 2,000-2,300 till they get employment in the plant whereas the policy stipulates payment of maintenance allowance for 12 months only,” it added.

The opposition in Kalinganagar has finally seen light and allowed the Tatas to build the infrastructure of Kalinganagar. Related to this, The Telegraph of UK has apologized to the Tatas for their negative coverage.

Things also seem to be going in the positive direction in the POSCO front and I hope the people there visit Tata’s colonies in Kalinganagar and demand and get similar or better facilities and form a positive partnership with POSCO. In addition the Odisha government should push POSCO in developing a POSTECH like University in Paradeep.

However, there is not much progress with respect to Vedanta Aluminum in Kalahandi or Vedanta University in Puri. Here again it would be wise for the people there to visit Tata’s colonies Kalinganagar and demand and get similar or better facilities and form a positive partnership with Vedanta. But the time may be running out for Puri as Vedanta University Project has indicated that it may give up and move south where it will be welcomed with open arms. If that happens it would of course be a mistake of a century for Puri and Odisha.

In regards to the Arcelor-Mittal and Keonjhar the company really has not made much visible effort to woo the people.

Update: Following are excerpts from a report in Business Standard.

Astha International Limited, one of India’s leading direct selling companies based out of Surat (Gujarat), would invest Rs 5000 crore on a slew of business ventures in Orissa by the end of 2012.

The investment which is to be raised through a mix of debt and internal accruals as well as from its 4.5 lakh odd distributors across the country, will be made on developing an integrated township project called ‘Astha City’ near Berhampur, a star hotel in Puri and a textile mill in Bhubaneswar.

Besides, Astha International would set up a dairy production unit, a multiplex and a hyper mall in the city.

The company has opened an office in the city and this would serve as the zonal office for the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

Together, all these projects will generate direct employment for over 10,000 people in the state.

All these projects are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2012.

"… The company would first begin with the integrated township project for which it has already identified around 200 acres of land near Berhampur.”

The company is betting big on the Orissa market which currently accounts for about 50 per cent of its overall revenues.

Astha International which has operations in 12 states of the country, clocked a revenue of Rs 300 crore in the last fiscal.

Out of 4.5 lakh distributors of the company, 1.5 lakh are based out of Orissa.

Astha International, which has more than 10,000 products in 26 different segments, also plans to float a bank called Astha Bank by 2011-12.

“We have already got the license of the Reserve Bank of India for starting banking operations and our bank will commence operations from 2011-12”, Chauhan claimed.

The website of this company is http://www.asthainternational.in/. In that site they mention an Astha city in Gujarat. Following is from Samaja.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

The state government, which acquired around 970 acres of land in the first phase for the Rs 3500-crore project, has now set in motion the process to acquire 626 acres of land for the project in the second phase.

The second phase land acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. The Shamuka tourism project needs 2500-3000 acres of land in all.

The project is being developed near Sipasarubali, about 10 km south of Puri on the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

…  After the second phase land acquisition, the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) will invite fresh bids for the project. This has been necessitated as the initial attempt to invite bids for the project received lukewarm response last year.

It may be noted that only three hotel chains had participated in the earlier bidding process for developing the four five star hotels on 100 acres of land. …

The state government had engaged global consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to incorporate some new provisions in the bid document for the Shamuka tourism project so as to make it investor friendly.

… The state government is investing Rs 50-70 crore on providing external infrastructure like electricity and water supply for the five-star hotel properties. Apart from the four five star hotels, the Shmauka tourism project would have facilities like a convention centre of international standards with a seating capacity of nearly 1,500, an 18-hole golf course, boutique hotels, international spa and wellness centres, an entertainment zone and sports facilities.

Bishnu Das’s article in Business Standard lists many of the solar and biomass power unit projects that are in the pipeline in Odisha. Following are some excerpts.

Solar power units:

• 5 Mw power plant of RSB Energy Pvt Ltd in Sundergarh district
• Enzen Global Solutions’s 5 Mw solar power plant in Khurda district
• Lanco Solar’s 5 Mw solar plant in Cuttack district
• Sunark Solar’s 5 Mw power plant in Puri district
• Kolkata based SREI Infrastructure’s 5 Mw solar power plant in Bolangir district
• Moserbaer Pvt Ltd’s 5 Mw grid interactive solar photo voltaic project
• Sahara India’s 5 Mw solar power plant

Biomass power units:

• Rice husk based power plant being set up by Shali Vahana Green Energy Ltd at Nimidha village in Dhenkanal district
• Satya Bio-Power Industry Ltd planning to set up a 10 Mw plant in Ganjam
• A V N Power Projects setting up a 10 Mw power plant in Kalahandi district
• Prasad Bio-Energy planning a 10 Mw unit in Raygada
• Jay Laxmi Bio-Energy Ltd intends to set up a 10 Mw unit in Nayagarh
• Another plant of similar capacity is proposed by Andhavarapu Bio-Energy in Nawarangpur

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

Kamat Hotels India Ltd (KHIL) which owns and operates hotels brands like The Orchid, VITS, Lotus Resorts and Gadh Hotels … has acquired the heritage palace ‘Mahodadhi Niwas’ in Puri and also the Eco Resort at Ramchandi, near the Sun Temple in Konark, in addition to the Parikud Palace and Rambha Palace, which are located near the Chilka Lake.

Of the three heritage properties acquired by KHIL, Mahodadhi Niwas opened for business on November 28, 2009. In the first phase, Mahodadhi offers 12 rooms and an additional 60 are expected to be developed over the next phase. KHIL is presently involved in restoring Parikud and Rambha Palaces, which will be commissioned in a phased manner in 2010.

… KHIL intends to strengthen the portfolio of its heritage brand – ‘Gadh Hotels’ in the state. We have already acquired three palaces from OTDC on a long-term lease and their restoration work is currently in progress.” As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity, KHIL has also undertaken cleaning and conservation task of Chilka Lake.

KHIL’s F&B arm Kamat Restaurants Pvt Ltd (KRPL), which operates the ‘Vithal Kamat’ chain of vegetarian quick-service restaurants is also making inroads in to Orissa. KRPL has recently commissioned four company-owned outlets in Orissa, on the Bhubaneswar-Puri highway.

Update:Tathya has a recent report on who is pursuing which port. Following is a table based on that info.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

… the Orissa government has approved two more bio-mass based power projects with a combined generating capacity of 39 Mw of power.

With this the total envisaged generating capacity in the bio-mass sector will increase to 129 Mw. Earlier, the government had approved 8 bio-mass based power projects with a combined generation capacity of 90 Mw.

… to promote bio-mass based power plants through the use of the wastes like rice husk, groundnut cover, coconut cover and other agricultural waste, the state government has started some initiative and approved the setting up of ten bio-mass based projects so far.

The State Level Technical Committee (STC) chaired by the secretary, science and technology, in its meeting held recently cleared two proposals- one by Starlight Energy’s proposal to set up a 15 Mw bio-mass power plant at Nuapada and the other by Mahavir Hitech Chemicals (P) Ltd to set up a 5 Mw power plant in Ratanpur village of Sundargarh district.

STC has also approved setting up of five more solar power projects aggregating 25 Mw in the state. The proposals include 5 Mw power plant proposed by RSB Energy Pvt. Ltd in Sundergarh dicstrict and Enzen Global Solutions’s plan to set up a 5 Mw solar power plant in Khurda district.

Similarly, Lanco Solar’s 5 Mw solar plant to be set up in Cuttack district, Sunark Solar’s 5 Mw power plant in Puri district and Kolkata based SREI Infrastructure’s proposal to set up a 5 Mw solar power plant in Bolangir district have been given the green signal.

Earlier the state government had approved Moserbaer Pvt Ltd’s 5 Mw grid interactive solar photo voltaic project and Sahara India’s proposal to set up a 5 Mw solar power plant in the state.

Following is an excerpt from a PIB release dated Nov 25, 2008.

Infrastructure Development

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned Rs. 610.51 crore for Infrastructure development in the year 2007-08 and Rs.482.07 crore in the year 2008-09.(Upto Oct.2008)

The Ministry has launched a scheme for development of nationally and internationally important destinations and circuits through Mega Projects. To date 22 mega projects have already been identified and of these 15 projects have been sanctioned for an amount of Rs.320.15 Crore . Of these, Amritsar, Agra, Varanasi, Gangtok, Bhubaneswar, Aurangabad and Hyderabad are also being developed as mega destinations through the joint plans of all the key Ministries of Government of India, which includes connectivity through road, rail and air and upgradation of civic infrastructure.

Following is from the year end review of the Tourism ministry as given in the PIB release dated Dec 30, 2008.

2. Infrastructure Development:

Infrastructure Development holds the key to India’s sustained growth in the tourism sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Tourism has been making efforts to develop quality tourism infrastructure at tourist destinations and circuits. The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 91 projects for an amount of Rs.503.56 crore for infrastructure augmentation including rural tourism projects in the year 2008-09 (up to November 08).

The Ministry has launched a scheme for development of nationally and internationally important destinations and circuits through Mega Projects. To date 22 mega projects have already been identified and of these 17 projects have been sanctioned. In the year alone the Ministry has sanctioned 11 mega projects at Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar-Puri-Chilka, Tirupati (Nellore-Chittor), Dwarka, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Vidarbha Heritage Circuit, Hampi, Gangtok, Kadapa, Mahabalipuram and Ganga Heritage Cruise Circuit. The mega projects are a judicious mix of culture, heritage, spiritual and ecotourism in order to give tourists a holistic perspective.

Ministry of Tourism is also taking initiatives with other Central Govt. Ministries, such as Railways, Civil Aviation, Road Transport & Highways, Food Processing and Urban Development and also the concerned State Governments to achieve convergence and synergy with their programmes so that the impact of investment on these destinations is maximized. Based on continuous coordination and interaction, 6 tourism sites – Agra, Varanasi, Gangtok, Bhubaneswar, Aurangabad and Hyderabad are being developed as mega destinations through the joint plans of all the key Ministries of Government of India. With the loan assistance of JBIC, the Ajanta Ellora Conservation and Tourism Development Project (Phase-II) is under implementation.

Following is from another PIB release dated December 30, 2008.

In addition, Mega shopping festivals are also being organized in cities of different regions of the country such as Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Aurangabad and Noida where artisans and artists from rural tourism sites would be given a platform for exhibition and sale of their handicraft products and for cultural performances.  This kind of exposure to the domestic and international tourists would have far reaching benefits for the socio-economic development of the rural artisans. 

Following is an excerpt from a report in Financial Express.

The proposed port town of Dhamra in Bhadrak district and the coastal village of Astaranga in Orissa are going to get two ultra mega power projects (UMPPs). The Centre, which has awarded two more UMPPs to the state besides the one at Sundergarh, is zeroing in on these two sites for the proposed projects.

A high-level team of experts and officials from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) identified the two sites after examining five possible sites located near the coast in the state. The five sites are Kirtaniya (on the mouth of the Subernarekha river) in Balasore district, Dhamra in Bhadrak, Paradip in Jagatsinghpur, Astaranga in Puri and Ganja in Ganjam district.

…  The CVR Navayuga Group has signed an MoU with the Orissa government to set up a 60 million tonne cargo handling capacity port at Astaranga with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore in three phases. The Hyderabad based company is also proposing to set up a 2×660 mw coal-fired thermal power plant and a 12 million tonne steel plant near the port.  

A state government official said DPCL and the Navayuga Group has no objection to the UMPPs coming up near their ports. The two UMPPs with 4000 mw capacity each will be developed through special purpose vehicles promoted by the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) with a proposed investment of Rs 32,000 crore.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Steelguru.

… Orissa Government, in its bid to encourage power generation from waste has given its accord to 8 bio mass based power projects with a combined generation capacity of 90 MW by private developers.

The proposed projects are likely to be set up in Raygada, Nawarangpur, Ganjam, Nayagarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal and Puri districts. The cost per MW of power is expected to be between INR 4.5 crore to INR 5 crore depending on the location and evacuation facilities.

Moreover, the Sali Vahana Green Energy is planning to set up a 20 MW bio mass based power plant in Dhenkanal and Satya bio power Industry, a 10 MW plant in Ganjam. Prasad bio energy plans to set up a 10 MW unit in Raygada. While Jaylaxmi bio energy Limited to set up a 10 MW unit in Nayagarh another plant of similar capacity by Andhavarapu bio energy is likely to come up in Nawarangpur. Sampath Power Projects and Falcon Green Energy propose 10 MW capacity units each in Khurda and Puri respectively.

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

Kamat Hotels India Ltd (KHIL) is in the process of developing 600 additional rooms under ‘The Orchid’ brand across India. Presently, properties are under development in Nagpur, Coimbatore, Raipur and Konark. Upcoming properties will be set up at greenfield locations and will be entirely managed and operated under the KHIL banner.

“The Orchid brand will continue to grow through tier I and II locations across India. For KHIL’s premium brand, we plan to tap emerging markets for potential locations,” says Vishal Kamat, Director, KHIL to Hospitality Biz. KHIL will develop a 30 room all-suite hotel in Konark, Orissa and a 100 room hotel in Nagpur. The Coimbatore and Raipur properties are expected to come up with about 200 and 120 rooms, respectively. “KHIL has always positioned The Orchid as a business hotel and we are keen that we develop and manage hotels under this brand to maintain its exclusivity in the market. Unlike Concept Hospitality Ltd (CHL), which presently manages a few Orchid hotels in New Delhi, Kollam and Jalandhar, KHIL will not operate simply as a hotel management entity in the market,” clarifies Kamat.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Telegraph.

Eight power companies today promised to invest Rs 42,000 crore in the state to build plants that will generate over 4,780MW.

…Naveen added that his government’s initiatives during the past four years in encouraging value-added steel, aluminium and cement projects had led to promised investment of around Rs 6 lakh crore out of which Rs 50,848 crore had already been realised.

The companies, which signed MoUs today, were Astaranga Power Company Ltd (2,640MW), Sahara India Power Corporation (1,320MW), Ind-Barat Energy Utkal Limited (700MW), Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (1,320MW), Visaka Thermal Power Pvt Ltd (1,100MW), Kalinga Energy & Power Limited (1,000MW), Arati Steel (500MW) and Chambal Infrastructures and Ventures Ltd (1,200MW).

While Astaranga Power Company intended to establish 2,640MW thermal power plants in two phases at Astaranga in Puri district with an investment of Rs 11,200 crore, Sahara India Power Corporation proposed to set up 1,320MW thermal power plant at Turla village in Bolangir district at an estimated cost of Rs 5,604 crore.

Similarly, Ind-Barat Energy Utkal planned to set up 700MW thermal power plant at Sahajbahal near Banharpali in Jharsuguda district with an investment of Rs 3,150 crore. Visaka Thermal Power will set up a 1,100MW coal-based power plant at Bhandaripokhari or Banto block in Bhadrak district at an investment of Rs 4,800 crore. Jindal Steel and Power proposes to set up a 1,320MW thermal power plant at Athamallik tehsil in Angul district with an investment of Rs 5,940 crore.

Besides, the Kalinga Energy plans to set up a 1,000MW thermal power project at an investment of Rs 4,261 crore at Babuchakuli.

While Arati Steel proposes to set up a 500MW thermal power plant at Ghantikhal in Cuttack district, Chambal Infrastructures and Ventures Ltd plans to set up 1,200MW power plant at Siaria in Dhenkanal district.

According to the MoUs, the state would get the benefits in shape of contribution to the environment management fund, value-added tax, coal royalty and water cess.

Around 1,174 to 1,370MW of power would be available to Orissa at variable cost (less than Rs 1.50 per unit), depending on the coal block availability.

This benefit would be extended to the consumers so that got power at cheaper rate, said energy secretary P.K. Jena, who signed the MoUs on behalf of the government.

• Chikiti , Ganjam
  • Patisonapur, Sonapur, Katuru, Chandanbada, Ekasingi
• Gopalpur, Ganjam
  • Dhepanuapada, Sasanapada, Phasinuapada, Indrakhi, Markandi, Lohadigam, Kirtipur, Kostapeta, Kamalpur, Hatipada, Golbanda, Boxipalli, Venketraipur, Gopalpur (NAC)
• Chhatrapur, Ganjam
  • Uppalaputi, Kalipalli, Basanaputi, Matikhala, Arjyapali, Humuribana, Podapadar, Agastinuagan, Jimi, Damodarpurpankalo, Ganjam (NAC), Pallibandha, Gokharakuda, Mayurapada, Jayamangalahil, Kantiagada, Nuagambarapalli, Padagadajhatipadar, Palurgada, Madhusudanpur, Prayagi
• Brahmagiri, Puri
  • Anikarapur, Nandala, Ramalenka, Brahmandeo, Hunjan, Pitisal, Baliapokhari, Udaygiri, Fatepur, Naba, Nababeatarea, Siandi, Gopalpur, Ora, Noliapatna, Jamuna, Alanda, Alandapatna, Titipia, Balianala, Mithakua, Nuapada, Deulapada, Biripadar, Kamalasing, Patharkata, Patanasi, Jharakata, Khirisahi, Kharisahi, Janhikuda, Bhabanipur, Parla, Gurubai, Berhampur, Maensa, Gopinathpurpatna, Alupatna, Satapada, Bankijala, Baghamunda, Sipakudapatna, Chandramara, Pirijipur, Banamalipurpatna, Mirjapur, Manika, Padanpur, Anandpur, Bhagbanpur, Manikpatna, Rameswarpur, Arakhakuda, Jenapur, Hasimpur, Sipasurubili, Narasinghpurpatna, Gorual
• Puri
  • Puri town, Balukhanda, Mohanipur, Beldal, Batulia Kesharpur, Bhimapur, Batulibhuan, Chhaitana
• Kakatpur, Puri
  • Gadabangor, Bangar, Sutan, Khalakata, Sahukbanata, Konark NAC, Dudhiabar, Jamara, Godhanpada, Abadan, Singharpal, Chhenua, Udaykani, Tandahar, Keutajanga, Rahakhandol, Daluakani, Chhuriana, Gundalaba, Sudikeswar, Sahana, Nanpur, Nuagarh, RIVER
• Balikuda-Ersama, Jagatsinghpur
  • RIVER, Badabali,  Dhanuhar Belari, Mankadakhia, Nadiakhia, Kusupur, Harispurgarh, Sahadabedi, RIVER, Padampur,  Jatadhartanda, Barkuda, Gadakujanga, Noliasahi, Polanga, Nuagaon, Gobindpur, Dhinikia, MUHANA, Abhayachandapur, Kansaripatia
• Paradeep, Jagatsinghpur
  •  Paradeep, Boitarakuda, Kaudia
• Mahakalapada, Kendrapada
  •  Hetamundia, Hukitola, Kansaridah, Baligarh, Bhitara-Kharinasi, Kharinasi, Jamboo, Kandara Pata, Banapada, Odiasala, Paunsiapal, Baro, Suniti, Chaulidiah
• Rajanagar, Kendrapada
  • Barunei muhana, Harishpur, Karanjia, Gohipur, Jurapanga, Bikeikani, Teisimouza, BaghaDiha, Paramandapur, Mohanpur, Govindapur, Kanhupur, Satavaya, Badagahiramatha, Kaduanasi, Sanagahiramatha, Habelichintamanipur, RIVER, Pravati, Ahirajpur, Sailendrasahi, Kantiakhai, Suravi, Rajapatna, Jyotiprasad, Birabhanjapur, Tikatatnagar, Talchua, Rajendranagar, Rajeswarinagar, Sailendranagar, Kanaknagar, Krishnanagar, Baghua, Subarnapur, Trilochanpur, Kamalpur, Saradaprasad, Dangamal, Nalitapatia, Govindpur, RIVER
•  Chandbali, Bhadrakh
  • RIVER, Kasturikana, Dhrubapahalipur, Rajendrapali, Rajarajeswarpali, Dakshinadhamara, Smal Wheeler, Jayadurgapatna, Jyosnamayee, Sabitrisarai, Amarnagar, Rabindranagar, Dosinga, Balisahi, Dhamara port, Coconat Island, Saratprasad, Kishoreprasad, Gouraprasad, Hrudayaprasad, Karanjamal, Narendrapur, Dhanakuta, Baincha, Kuamara, Karanapalli, Bijaypatna
• Basudevpur, Bhadrakh
  • Nandapatna, Balimunda, Badahabelisahi, Sanahabelisahi, Bideipur, Krushnapur, Kismatkrushnapur, Basudevpur (NAC), Chudamani port, RIVER, Adhuan, Eram, Kantipur, Kumarpur, Mohanpur, RIVER
• Soro, Balasore
  •  Kharasahpur, Kheranga, Maharudrapur, Balisahi
• Remuna, Balasore
  • Talapada, RIVER, Inchudi, Deulabad, Kantarda, Khadu, Rasalpur, Bhimpur, Kusumuli, Jayadebkasapa, Jayadevkasba, Nidhipada, Gudu, Hidigan
• Balasore
  • Chandipur, Budhbalanga river mouth, Srikona, Parikhi, Bagda, Dubulagadi, Sartha, Kasafal muhana, Kasafal
• Basta, Balasore
  • Jambhirai, Jamunasul, Chandamani, Aladiha, Balibil, Betagadia, Narayanpur, Dagara, Chaumukha, Kirtania port, Subarnarekha RIVER
• Bhograi, Balasore
  • Subarnarekha RIVER, Rasalpur, Kumbhirgari, Kirtaniajalpahi, N. M. Padia, Chandrabali,  Narayan Mohanty Padia, Talasari beach, SAND

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

… Mr.Agarwal impressed upon the Chief Minister that his group is eager to expand the .50 million ton smelter in Jharsuguda to a 1.6 million ton per annum (MTPA). 

Naveen Patnaik, asked the Chief Secretary to look into the matter finalize the expansion program, said sources. 

Mr.Agarwal updated the Chief Minister about the status of Vedanta’s ongoing projects in the state here on 3 January..

The Alumina Project at Lanjigarh, Smelter and Power Projects at Jharsuguda and the University project at Puri is being implemented by the Vedanta group.

On Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) front, adoption of 400 anganwadis, providing education for 14000 children at Kalahandi are being implemented, briefed Mr.Agarwal.

Mr. Agarwal agreed to extend the coverage to 40000 children and agreed to introduce the Mid Day Meal scheme for 30000 primary and the secondary level school student in the state through Nandi and Sterlite Foundation as the Chief Minister requested him.

He also announced a 100 bedded state-of-the-art multi-speciality hospital at Jharsuguda will provide medical facility to the local people.

Chairman Vedanta group reiterated his earlier commitment to build a 1000 bedded super-specialty hospital at Puri.

It was also informed that the design and the engineering has been completed and construction is to begin soon.

In addition Mr Agarwal put forth his plans of setting up of a downstream Aluminium Park in collaboration with the government to promote as many as 600 small and medium scale industries at Jharsuguda. 

The project will generate large scale employment opportunities and additional economic activities in the region.

Currently the Vedanta Group’s investment commitments are in excess of Rs 50,000 crores, half of which has already been invested in various projects of Orissa.

Vedanta is presently generating a huge number of direct and indirect employment for approximately 25000 people, eighty percent of which belong to the state of Orissa.

After the meeting the CM, Mr Agarwal told reporters that all the ongoing projects of Vedanta would continue as per schedule in spite of the recent global recession.

He also assured that in his personal capacity he would make all possible efforts to complete the Vedanta University Project, a world class University at par with the Havard and Stanford University of U,S.A.

He has already committed personal contribution of Rs 5000 crore towards this project.