___________

Following is an excerpt from a report in the Statesman.

Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) offers the best rehabilitation package in the state, claimed company sources here recently. The company aims to reduce the impact of its activities on the environment, wherever feasible. The majority of the sites are certified by the international environmental management systems standard ISO 14001. This includes the requirement that environmental impacts are identified. There are ongoing programmes for improvement across key impact areas, they said.

Responding to the critics of its bauxite mining project at Kalahandi, Vedanta officials said that all 120 families that were displaced for the project have got pucca houses with round-the-clock electricity and water supply. Besides one youth from each displaced family has been trained and given a job in the refinery, adding that a total of 2,500 local people have found employment in the refinery project till date. “While about 2000 people had got direct employment at the refinery in Lanjigarh, over 2000 others were getting indirect income generating opportunities,” company sources said.

Vedanta has also started the ‘Sasya Silpa Abhijan’ an initiative of vegetable cultivation, run in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Sustainable Development to give a boost to agriculture in the area. “On an area of 550 acres of land, nearly 500 farmers are participating in the project as partners,” said a senior official. “Although we bear the expenses for irrigation through a diesel pump set by us, yet the training and support provided by Vedanta through this programme has helped us a lot,” said Mr Dinanath Pangi, a farmer.

Vedanta also offers various self-employment schemes for residents of the villages nearby and especially for the womenfolk. Women self-help-groups have been started under public-private partnership in collaboration with the district health department on the Swastha Parivar project. In a bid to widen its corporate social responsibility, the Vedanta group has also adopted 400 Anganwadi centres in Kalahandi district and will look after more than 40,000 children in some of the state’s most backward areas.

“Vedanta has signed an MoU with the state government and the Sterlite Foundation for the adoptions,” said Vedanta group spokesman Mr CV Krishnan. “As a part of the arrangement, every pre-school child aged between three and six years will be provided a cooked meal of 300 calories at noon. The company will also look after the health of the children through regular check ups and medicines,” he added.

He further said that the company is also undertaking the beautification of the Anganwadis by erecting green boundaries, whitewashing buildings and providing see-saws and slides for the children. Furthermore incentives are being provided to Anganwadi workers. While Anganwadi workers receive Rs 250 per month, each helper is given Rs 150 extra by the company. “The same exercise will also be replicated in Jharsuguda,” Mr Krishnan said. The total expenditure on child welfare activities in the two districts will be over Rs 15 crore, company officials revealed In order to ensure that everything goes as per plan, the process will be reviewed by a committee headed by the district collector, the local MLA and the chairman of panchayat samity, they said.

Mr Krishnan said that Vedanta further aims to improve the electricity network, construct roads and develop better educational and healthcare facilities.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard. The six suggestions are:

• taking up entry point activity,
• providing employment to the affected and the displaced persons,
• promotion of local employment to the extent possible,
• initiative for protection of environment,
• enthusing and engaging the people and
• empathising with the local people.

… Tripathy said, the steel units have been advised to take up various entry point activities to fill the infrastructural gap in their area of operation.

Similarly, they also need to take care of employment of the project affected and the displaced persons either through setting up Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) or through adoption of the existing ITIs in the state.

It will help those units to meet their requirement of skilled man power in the trades they require. The industries have further been advised to promote local employment to the maximum extent possible.

He said, the industries have been told to take up afforestation and ensure protection of social and economic environment. Efforts will have to be made for enthusing and involving the people in the industrialisation process to attain the objective of inclusive development.

Besides, the industrial units will have to empathise with the local people considering them as stakeholders in the industrialisation process. To further supplement these efforts the industries need to educate and empower the local people so that they can get jobs on merit.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business standard.

Global steel major ArcelorMittal, who is proposing to set up a 12 million tonne greenfield steel plant at Patna tehsil in Keonjhar district of Orissa, plans to spend about $300 million (about Rs 1,200 crore) on rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R). …

ArcelorMittal has presented its R&R plan to the Keonjhar district administration. It plans to spend the earmarked amount over a period of more than five years.

"We plan to spend about $300 million for the R&R plan over a period of more than five years. The R&R plan has already been submitted to the Orissa government," ArcelorMittal India chief executive officer (CEO) Sanak Misra said.

After meeting Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik along with Sudhir Maheshwari and Vijay Bhattanagar, the members of ArcelorMittal’s group management board, in the state secretariat today, Misra told the media that their steel plant will come up in two phases of 6 million tonne each. He said the R&R plan of the company was in conformity with the R&R policy of the Orissa government.

The plan envisages dwelling units for each of the displaced family with common facilities. The rehabilitation colonies will have water supply, educational institutions and primary health centres (PHCs).

As per the R&R plan, the company will set up a state-of-the-art industrial training institute (ITI) beside the steel plant. It is in discussion with three leading institutes of the country having previous experience in handling ITIs.

The model, including student strength and the cost of setting up of the ITI, is being worked out. Misra, however, made it clear that the ITI would come up before the commissioning of the plant. The company was in discussion with the state government for the required land, he said.

Official sources said, the company planned to apply the highest standards of corporate social responsibility (CSR) for the Orissa project and intended to make the R&R policy the backbone of the CSR strategy.

Misra said a detail project report (DPR), prepared by M N Dastur & Company (P) Ltd (Dasturco), was being finalised. It would be submitted in June, 2008, he added.

The DPR includes captive mining facilities, captive power supply, water supply infrastructure and other required facilities. It also includes setting up of townships for the company’s employees.

The ArcelorMittal CEO also expressed his satisfaction over the land acquisition, saying that it was making good progress.

The company had signed an MoU with the Orissa government in December 2006 for setting up a steel plant at an investment of about Rs 40,000 crore.

Following is from Dharitri.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

The Orissa government has given administrative sanction for acquiring land at Patana tehsil in Kenojhar district for Arcelor-Mittal’s proposed 12 million tons per annum steel plant.

The company … has already deposited Rs 4.03 crore with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDCO) as processing fee for phase-I land acquisition.

The government has also appointed a nodal officer to oversee land acquisition process and other issues concerning the company’s greenfield project, said Steel and Mines Minister Padmanabha Behera.

Arcelor-Mittal is understood to have sought nearly 8,000 acres of land for the purpose and the state is believed to have agreed to the request.

The government has, however, cleared acquisition of only 1,224 acre of land spread over three villages like Angikala, Baradangua and Bhrungaraj under Patana tehsil in the first phase of land acquisition.

The 1,224 acres demarcated for the first phase acquisition comprised 431 acres of government land and 739 acres belonging to private owners.

While the government had fixed price per acre of state land at Rs two lakh, it was yet to decide cost of private land which would be fixed according to rehabilitation and resettlement policy.

Following are extracted from a report in the Pioneer.

• the State Commerce and Transport Department, in its sanction order-29753, dated May 30, 1970, had allotted 3, 793.21 acres in the first phase and 2285.23 acres in the second phase to the Paradip Port Project. Most of the lands were obtained from Sandhakuda, Bijayachandrapur, Balijhari and Bhitaragara villages, under Kujang Tehsil. According to the official sources, about 6,889 acres of land were supplied to the Paradip Port Trust.
• The State Government had provided 62.19 acres of land to the Paradeep Phosphate Ltd, which is a fertiliser plant that started its project in 1982. The PPL had acquired 405 acres of private lands from Bhitaragada village on its own.
• … in Paradeep-Cuttack railway line 137 acres of land were acquired from the Bhitaragada village.
• Kujang Tehsil had about 1,500 acres of Government land in the Musadiha area that was provided to the Oswal Fertiliser Plant in the year 1995-96. The plant had also purchased about 500 acres of private land from the local people.
• … in 2000 Indian Oil Corporation had purchased 3,300 acres of private land from the local people of 17 villages for its refinery project, which was to be set up on the outskirts of Paradip but the project is yet to come.
• for much-hyped Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Project, widening of the NH-5 and recent expansion of Cuttack-Paradip State Highway, thousands of acres of both Government and private lands have been acquired from Kujang Tehsil.
• Essar, the 6 million tonnes steel plant project, moves for the land acquisition in Paradip and the project needs about 1,950 acres of land. The State Government has already given 350 acres of land to the plant. It will procure the remaining required land from private land.
• Posco has shown a demand of about 4,004 acres of land in Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon villages for its steel plant and port project. The State Government has given assurance and has provided Posco most of the encroached Government and forestlands. The rest of the required land would be purchased from private landowners.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Economic Times.

… According to sources, the Haryana and Orissa governments have decided to put in place a policy making it mandatory for developers to employ a member from every family in a village affected by a SEZ project.

The Cabinet, in October, approved the National Policy on Rehabilitation & Resettlement, 2007, to replace the National Policy on Resettlement & Rehabilitation for Project-Affected Families, 2003. “The policy can incorporate minor changes, if needed, for the welfare of rural folk,” an official in the rural development ministry said.

A National Rehabilitation Commission would be set up by the Centre, which will be empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of affected families.

To ensure transparency, there would be a provision for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information would also be placed in the public domain by the gram panchayats.

People would, however, be given jobs according to their qualifications. The government is of the view that salaries should at least match what an individual was earning before being displaced.

“We are also in the process of setting up a mechanism through which the affected communities would be duly informed and consulted at each stage, including public hearings in the affected areas for social impact assessment,” the official said.

Following is an excerpt from Pioneer on this.

The Forum stated that the land requirement of South-Korean steel maker Posco India Ltd has 4,004 acres, including around 3,566 acres of Government land, for their proposed 12 million ton steel plant at Paradip; based on all weather port, SEZ status as well as Finex process for production process. On the other hand, MSIL had shown a total requirement of 8,750 acres, including 4, 469.79 acres of Government land, for their 12 million ton proposed steel complex at Patna in Keonjhar district. Dastur and Co is yet to submit the post- DPR.

Former Wing Commander Kiran Sankar Behera and Sudershan Pattnaik of KCF pointed out the contrast between the land requirements shown by Essar, JSPL, Sterlite (Vedanta Group) and Uttam Galva for their proposed steel complexes at Paradip, Angul and Sadar Sub-division of Keonjhar district and that of Posco.

For instance, Uttam Galva Steel Limited (UGSL) had shown a land requirement of 2,130 acres for their 3-million-tonne projects like Vedanta, Essar and Jindal whose complexes are to come up at Keonjhar, Paradip and Angul.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Ajit Tripathy asked the MSIL Group to release their land requirement.

Meanwhile, unconfirmed sources informed that Dastur and Co had submitted a detailed tech-economic feasibility study, in which the exact requirements of land for steel, sponge and pig iron per metric tonne were clearly mentioned, in accordance with the standards fixed by the State Government, a few months back.

Observers maintained that in the present day production process employs high technology, mostly latest Chinese technology. For cost-effective and qualitative management, the best option is to have very less amount of land for keeping daily inventory and for waste disposal at the proposed site. This will prove time friendly for both the State and the companies.

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

Mittal Steel India, which is in the process of readying its rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) package for its 12 million tonne Orissa project, will consider issue of shares and land-for-land as part of its compensation to land-losers.

Sanak Mishra, chief executive officer, Mittal Steel India said, “The Orissa government’s R&R policy includes issue of shares as a means of compensation and if the people want it, we will do it. But that will happen at the implementation stage and we have to see the legal standpoint and the mechanism.”

Mittal Steel hopes to finalise the draft R&R package and make presentations to the Orissa government by month end. “If the Orissa government wants to incorporate something, we will look into it.”

The state government’s policy mentions convertible preference share as a compensation option. It says that at the option of the displaced family and subject to the provisions of relevant laws in force, the project authority could issue convertible preference shares or secured bonds up to a maximum of 50 per cent out of one-time cash assistance.

“There were also other physical issues being considered like alternative land for the displaced people. We will, however, have to assess how much land is required,” said Mishra.

… After finalising the scheme in consultation with the state government, Mittal Steel plans to embark on a communication programme with the land-losers.

The project site is a mix of government and private land. The 12 million steel plant at
Keonjhar would require around 8,000 acres, which includes 1,000 acres for the captive power plant and 1,000 acres for the township.

Mittal Steel is also in dialogue with the Orissa for iron ore mines. Various options are being explored, including arrangement with the Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC), a state-owned mining corporation.

“Talks are at an exploratory stage and it was too premature to talk about it. An arrangement with OMC could enable Mittal Steel to go through captive iron ore mine allocation process, which was one of the stumbling blocks for the company’s Jharkhand project,” Mishra added. Mittal Steel requires around 600 million tonnes of iron ore over a 30-year period for its steel plant.

Business standard reports that Posco near Paradip in Orissa has received a major boost with people of two grampachayats, out of three panchayats affected by the project, writing to the district collector pledging their support to the project. Excerpts:

“For its steel project, Posco had sought 4,004 acres of land spreading over three panchayats — Nuagoan, Gada Kujanga and Dhinkia. Of the total land, 3,566 acres are government land while the remaining 438 acres are privately owned.

However, the company was unable to acquire land due to stiff opposition by the local people to the project even after lapse of two years of signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government in June 2005 and issue of 4/1 notification for land acquisition in May 2006.

The recent submission by the village committees of Nuagaon and Gada Kujanga to the Jagatsinghpur district collector, pledging their support to the project, has brightened up the prospect of its establishment, pointed out an official of the district administration.

The two panchayats account for 238 acres, out of 438 acres of private land slated to be acquired for the project. Similarly, of the 471 families likely to be displaced by the project, 275 families belong to these panchayats.

Further boosting up the company’s moral 40 betel vine owners, who are among the most affected villagers, have recently surrendered their betel vines and accepted compensation while 250-300 others are waiting to surrender their vines.

In their letters, the respective village committees have expressed their willingness to part with land for the project and offered their participation in the peripheral development work to be undertaken by the government, the sources added.

However, the Dhinkia panchayat, which is the nerve centre of anti-Posco movement, is yet to reconcile though fissures have appeared in stitching up a united front by the people of this panchayat against the company. Seventy-two families from Patna village under Dhinkia gram panchayat have offered their land to the project.

Similarly, the people of Gobindpur village under this gram panchayat pledged their support to the project in September 2007, and invited the district collector to visit them to discussion on land acquisition and compensation packages.

The growing support for the Posco plant was further demonstrated when over 5,000 people attended a rally and public meeting under the leadership of local MLA and senior BJD leader Damodar Rout at Balitutha, the entry point to the troubled site on November 1.

This was the first show of strength by the pro-project groups whose support to the project was often muted by the vocal and often violent opposition mounted the anti-project brigade in the area. To counter the pro-Posco rally, the project opponents had organised a demonstration just across the Balitutha bridge. However, they were hugely outnumbered with about 1,000 people participating in it.

But the leaders of the Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS), spearheading the agitation against the proposed plant, are willing to accept defeat just on the basis of this headcount.

Most of the people who participated in the pro-Posco rally were outsiders who were transported to the venue by the ruling party, says Abhaya Sahoo, the president of PPSS.

“We will continue our fight and not allow the company to set up its plant here,” he added.“

This looks positive.
Just to summarize

• GadaKujang and Nuagaon are supporting the project.
• Some villages in Dhinkia Panchayat seem to be favouring POSCO like Patna village and Gobindpur village.
• 5000 people supported POSCO in the rally, but , 1000 went against it.
• 72 families from Patna village have already offered land.
• This was the first show of strength by the pro-project groups whose support to the project was often muted by the vocal and often violent opposition mounted the anti-project brigade in the area

Thanks to Manoj Padhi for pointing this out in Orissa Today. The following is from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=31832.

The Union Cabinet today gave its approval for the National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, 2007, to replace the National Policy on Resettlement and Rehabilitation for Project Affected Families, 2003. A Gazette Notification will be issued shortly to bring into effect the new Policy.

The Cabinet also decided to bring a legislation on the lines of the new Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, and to suitably amend the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. Necessary steps shall be taken in this regard as per the established procedure.

The new Policy and the associated legislative measures aim at striking a balance between the need for land for developmental activities and, at the same time, protecting the interests of the land owners, and others, such as the tenants, the landless, the agricultural and non-agricultural labourers, artisans, and others whose livelihood depends on the land involved. The benefits under the new Policy shall be available to all affected persons and families whose land, property or livelihood is adversely affected by land acquisition or by involuntary displacement of a permanent nature due to any other reason, such as natural calamities, etc. The Policy will be applicable to all these cases irrespective of the number of people involved.

The benefits to be offered under the new Policy to the affected families include; land-for-land, to the extent Government land would be available in the resettlement areas; preference for employment in the project to at least one person from each nuclear family within the definition of the ‘affected family’, subject to the availability of vacancies and suitability of the affected person; training and capacity building for taking up suitable jobs and for self-employment; scholarships for education of the eligible persons from the affected families; preference to groups of cooperatives of the affected persons in the allotment of contracts and other economic opportunities in or around the project site; wage employment to the willing affected persons in the construction work in the project; housing benefits including houses to the landless affected families in both rural and urban areas; and other benefits.

Adequate provisions have also been made for financial support to the affected families for construction of cattle sheds, shops, and working sheds; transportation costs, temporary and transitional accommodation, and comprehensive infrastructural facilities and amenities in the resettlement area including education, health care, drinking water, roads, electricity, sanitation, religious activities, cattle grazing, and other community resources, etc.

The benefits expressed in monetary terms have been linked to the Consumer Price Index, and the same shall also be revised suitably at appropriate intervals.

The Requiring Bodies shall be responsible for development of designated areas on the periphery of the project site, and shall earmark funds for the purpose of such periphery development activities.

A special provision has been made for providing life-time monthly pension to the vulnerable persons, such as the disabled, destitute, orphans, widows, unmarried girls, abandoned women, or persons above 50 years of age (who are not provided or cannot immediately be provided with alternative livelihood).

Special provision for the STs and SCs include preference in land-for-land for STs followed by SCs; a Tribal Development Plan which will also include a programme for development for alternate fuel which will also include a programme for development for alternate fuel and non-timber forest produce resources, consultations with Gram Sabhas and Tribal Advisory Councils, protection of fishing rights, land free-of-cost for community and religious gatherings, continuation of reservation benefits in resettlement areas, etc.

A strong grievance redressal mechanism has been prescribed, which includes standing R&R Committees at the district level, R&R Committees at the project level, and an Ombudsman duly empowered in this regard. The R&R Committees shall have representatives from the affected families including women, voluntary organisations, Panchayats, local elected representatives, etc. Provision ahs also been made for post-implementation social audits of the rehabilitation and resettlement schemes and plans.

For effective monitoring of the progress of implementation of R&R plans, provisions have been made for a National Monitoring Committee, a National Monitoring Cell, mandatory information sharing by the States and UTs with the National Monitoring Cell, and Oversight Committees in the Ministries/Departments concerned for each major project, etc.

For ensuring transparency, provision has been made for mandatory dissemination of information on displacement, rehabilitation and resettlement, with names of the affected persons and details of the rehabilitation packages. Such information shall be placed in the public domain on the Internet as well as shared with the concerned Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, etc. by the project authorities.

A National Rehabilitation Commission shall be set up by the Central Government, which will be duly empowered to exercise independent oversight over the rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected families.

Under the new Policy, no project involving displacement of families beyond defined thresholds can be undertaken without a detailed Social Impact Assessment, which among other things, shall also take into account the impact that the project will have on public and community properties, assets and infrastructure; and the concerned Government shall have to specify that the ameliorative measures for addressing the said impact, may not be less than what is provided under any scheme or programme of the Central or State Government in operation in the area. The SIA report shall be examined by an independent multi-disciplinary expert group, which will also include social science and rehabilitation experts. Following the conditions of the SIA clearance shall be mandatory for all projects displacing people beyond the defined thresholds.

The affected communities shall be duly informed and consulted at each stage, including public hearings in the affected areas for social impact assessment, wide dissemination of the details of the survey to be conducted for R&R plan or scheme, consultations with the Gram Sabhas and public hearings in areas not having Gram Sabhas, consultations with the affected families including women, NGOs, Panchayats, and local elected representatives, among others. Consultations with the Gram Sabhas in the Scheduled Areas shall be held as per the provisions of the PESA Act, 1996.

The Policy also provides that land acquired for a public purpose cannot be transferred to any other purpose but a public purpose, and that too, only with prior approval of the Government. If land acquired for a public purpose remains un-utilized for the purpose for five years from the date of taking over the possession, the same shall revert to the Government concerned. When land acquired is transferred for a consideration, eighty per cent of any net unearned income so accruing to the transferor, shall be shared with the persons from whom the lands were acquired, or their heirs, in proportion to the value of the lands acquired.

The entitled persons shall have the option to take up to twenty per cent of their rehabilitation grant and compensation amount in the form of shares, if the Requiring Body is a company authorised to issue shares and debentures; with prior approval of the Government, this proportion can be as high as fifty per cent of the rehabilitation grant and compensation amount.

One of the objectives of the Policy is to minimize displacement of people and to promote non-displacing or least-displacing alternatives. The Policy also recommends that only the minimum necessary area of land commensurate with the purpose of the project should be taken, and the use of agricultural land for non-agricultural purposes should be kept to the minimum; multi-crop land should be avoided and irrigated land use should be kept to the minimum for such purposes. Projects may preferably be set up on wastelands or un-irrigated lands.

The Policy has been formulated after wide-ranging consultations with the concerned Ministries/Departments, the States and the Union Territories, the industry groups, persons/groups actively engaged in the field of R&R, and the public at large.

Rediff reports that the new SEZ policy has been announced by the Govt.

Excerpts”

The National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement, 2007, which was cleared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, provides for land-for-land compensation, besides preference to affected families for jobs in projects coming up on their plots.”“The new policy seeks to make those entitled for compensation stakeholders in development by allowing them to take up to 20 per cent of the amount in the form of shares if the acquiring entity is authorised to issue these instruments.

“With prior approval of the government, this proportion can be as high as 50 per cent of the rehabilitation grant and compensation amount,” the Rural Development Ministry said.

The policy discourages speculative transactions of land acquired for public purposes. As a relief for developers, 30 per cent land can be compulsorily acquired by states for the promoters while the rest has to be bought by them.”

Reliance has welcomed this policy. It remains to be seen what implications this has on POSCO which wants SEZ status for it’s project.

The Hindu reported today that the chief representative of PRI(Posco Research Institute) has made some adverse comments on the progress of MOUs in Orissa.

Taking excerpts mentioned in the report:

“Chief Representative of PRI Chang-ho Kwag said the social infrastructure of the State was not proper to absorb mega projects. “Attitude and mindset of State Government and people towards projects need to be changed. Education of people to understand the real cost benefit of industrial project was necessary in which the state government has a big role,” Mr. Kwag said.“West Bengal can be a good example. Why is every good project taking shape in West Bengal? I think the State Government played a key role there,” he said.

Despite being a State governed by Left parties, the State adopted itself in post-liberalisation era, the PRI Director said.

All the coastal states of India showed healthy GDP growth while Orissa lagged with 3.5 per cent rate growth compared to West Bengal’s nearly 6 per cent, he said.

“The Government needs to set up service mechanism for expediting mega projects,” Mr. Kwag said. The Posco Research Institute said Chinese government had engaged two to three of its personnel for one big project so that they could take care of different processes and ensure project getting converted into reality.“

The Head of PRI must understand that Orissa is not a communist country like China. Where if requirements are provided by companies, local protests are crushed using an Iron hand and value propositions are ignored completely. Rehabilitation is a complicated process.

It is surprising to note, that , the head of PRI has mentioned that most projects are coming up in West Bengal. Do they actually think, that they would get a captive port in West bengal and also land at such cheap rates which is being provided to them in Orissa.

Also, they might actually mention which big projects are coming to West Bengal. In West Bengal land acquisition is easier since, the writ of the local communist runs in every block. Even then a Nandigram has happenned there.

Perhaps, he should see the amount if strikes that happen in West bengal. A bandh(strike) is a regular feature of life in the state. If this is considered business friendly then we have some new rules for business.

The truth of the matter is that, Orissa has been second fastest in implementation of MOUs in the country.

Let it be noted ,that , it is a combination of land and accesibility to a sea-port which makes Orissa an attractive destination.

Perhaps, the head of PRI is not aware that according to a World Bank report, Orissa is supposed to be the fastest place to start a Business among all states in India.

Perhaps, some of the statements can be reconsidered.

Following are excerpts from a news item in Tathya.in.

… the Bharati Shipyard Limited (BSL), a major private shipyard and the Apeejay Surendra Group, an industrial conglomerate have joined hands to set up the-State-of-the-art shipbuilding yard and ship repair yard project at Dhamra in Orissa.

The mega shipyard project will entail an investment of Rs.2200 crore in 3 phases.

Employment opportunities in this labor intensive industry will be 41,000 in the third phase, reveals the proposal submitted to the State Government.

… Revealing the strength of the state over others, the promoter said that easy availability of raw material like steel, availability of large number of skilled, unskilled man power and above all the proactive government policies dotted with positive environment for investors are creating conducive atmosphere for a mega shipyard in the state.

The requirement of steel in shipbuilding and repairing has been projected as in the first phase it will be up to 75,000 MT per annum, while in second phase it will go up to 2,30,000 MT.

In the final phase the steel requirement will go up to 4, 50,000 MT said the source.

… The proposed site has been identified near the Dhamra Port, where out of 1500 acres surveyed 1050 acre of land has been provisionally selected for the mega shipyard.

According to implementation schedule the promoters have decided to go for Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Government of Orissa in the month of October.

Once MOU in place than other activities will follow, said the source.

Rehabilitation Plan will be taken up in accordance with the present Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy of the State Government.

… Milestones set up for the project envisages that Master Plan will be ready in the next year and construction of the shipyard will begin in mid of 2008.

The Joint venture promoters feel that the project will complete its first phase construction in early 2009 to begin commercial production by middle of the year.

Following are excerpts from a report in Statesman.

… Mr Bijay Kumar Panda, head of Essar Steel Orissa highlighted the advantages of his proposed project yesterday.

Mr Panda said that the people of Nuagada, Udayabata and Bijaychandpur are keen on an early establishment of the proposed steel plant.

Barring a couple of organizations, the people at large are interested in the project and they have accepted the RR policy adopted by the company, he claimed.

Mr Panda informed that Essar Steel Orissa Ltd (ESOL), which is fully owned by Essar Steel Ltd, is going to set up a 6 million tone per annum integrated steel plant at the cost of Rs 15,000 corers.

The project would require 1900 acres of land out of which 270 acres would be government land and the rest, private. He informed that the number of displaced families have not yet been ascertained because the land survey has not been completed.

He said that the company, the government and the people had all agreed to a rate of Rs 9.50 lakh per acre as compensation and that some people had already provided their land at the said rate.

Balram Parida of Nuagada village who had given his 70 decimals land for the project said he had also requested the Essar authority to emply his son. Speaking of the project, Mr Panda informed that the technology selected will be eco –friendly and increase the iron ore reserves. He said that a beneficiation plant is located at Joda and Barbil so beneficiated ore will be transported through a slurry pipe line to Joda. Supply of iron ore through the pipe line will be cheaper too, he added.

He also informed 5500 people will be employed. The company will set up a 200 mega watt captive thermal power plant.

Meanwhile, the Paradip Krushak Manch has threatened to agitate if Essar failed to increase the compensation to Rs 25 lakh per acre.

Following is an excerpt from a Reuters report.

Officials in Orissa said on Thursday they had earmarked 7,000 acres of government and private land for a steel project proposed by Arcelor Mittal.

Last December, Arcelor Mittal, the world’s biggest steel maker, signed a multi-billion deal with the state government to build the 12 million tonne plant, and is also planning a similar sized steel unit in Jharkhand.

“We have cleared 7,000 acres of land for the steel project and captive power plant so that they can start work (aquiring land),” Orissa’s Industry Secretary Ashok Dalwai told Reuters.

He said most of the land was owned by the state but Arcelor Mittal would have to purchase some from farmers, a potentially controversial process the Orissa government would facilitate.

Hundreds of families are living on the state-owned land and would have to be moved.

The company still has to tie up a mining lease.

… The Arcelor Mittal project also includes a 750 MW power plant. The company had asked for 1,000 acres (400 hectares) on which to build homes for workers, in addition to 7,000 acres for the steel plant itself.

Supporters say the project would provide jobs for 5,500 people directly and another 15,000 indirectly.

In July, Arcelor Mittal Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal had said that a detailed project report would be ready by mid-2008 and the first phase of the plant would be commissioned within four years of the report’s completion.

State officials said on Thursday the project would only get formal clearance once that report had been submitted.

Following are excerpts from a sify.com report.

State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is setting up an oil refinery-cum-petrochemical complex at Paradip in Orissa, with an installed capacity of 15 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) at an estimated cost of Rs 25,646 crore.

”The project is expected to be completed by October 2011,” Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He said the land acquisition was carried out by Orissa Government by consent agreement under section 11(2) of the Land Acquisition Act, based on the compensation package for private land fixed by Orissa Government in October, 1999.

IOC has already acquired 3,347 acres of land for Paradip Refinery Project.

The progress made on the various phases of the project includes the construction of bridges over Santra Creek, approach road including railway over-bridge for the refinery connecting NH-5A to refinery site have been completed.

Tecnological selection for all major units has been completed.

Residential accommodation for construction phase, CISF colony, coastal approach road and green belt development are under various stages of construction.

Project Management Consultant (PMC) has been selected for Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase of the project on December 1, 2006.

Patel said the environmental clearance for the project has been received on July 6, 2007.

He added an amount of Rs 2281.87 crore has been sanctioned for Paradip Refinery project for carrying out pre-project activities, out of which, Rs 778.32 crore has been spent as on July 31, this year.

See http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070723/asp/nation/story_8094453.asp. (Thanks to Manoj Padhi and Orissatoday for the pointer.)

Following is from this PIB release.

The total number of land oustees for National Aluminium Company Limited(NALCO)’s Mines & Refinery Complex, Damanjodi is 600 and for its Smelter & Power Complex, Angul is 35. As a part of rehabilitation policy, NALCO at its initial stage, had formulated a policy for providing employment to one able bodied member of each oustee family subject to suitability of candidate and availability of vacancy. Out of 600 land oustees at Damanjodi, one member each from 591 land oustees has been provided employment and out of 35 at Angul, 34 have been given employment in the Company.

NALCO has intimated that the Company stands committed to provide employment to at least one member of each land oustee family. However, the Company has not been able to provide employment in respect of the remaining oustees as on date due to reasons like non-determination of bonafide nominees, lack of response from the families, etc.

Above information was given by the Minister of State for Mines Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Following are excerpts from a Sambada report.