The authorities of the Wild Animal Conservation Centre (WACC) popularly known as “Deer Park”, are taking a humane approach to its inmates during this scorching summer.
Deer Park is located inside Sambalpur city in a sprawling area of 35 acres, and is home to nearly 210 animals of 19 different species.
“The utmost care has been taken to supply adequate water and shelter to animals inside this centre to improve their welfare during this hot summer. Of course the green coverage inside adds to their comfort; still we have made extra arrangements for sheds inside the centre,” said Mr DK Swain – the DFO (wildlife) of Sambalpur.
… The centre now houses 94 spotted deer, 10 Chausingha, four barking deer, eight bears, five pythons, one leopard, as well as monkeys, parrots, eagles, grey horn bills and other wild birds in good numbers. And all of them are paid due attention by a well experienced ranger, Mr Amulya Kumar Parida, the DFO said.
Since the WACC is a centre of attraction for the people of Sambalpur and neighbouring districts, a proposal to improve it further has been placed before the central zoo authority, Mr Parida. “We would like to increase the number of animals, and create a beautiful garden inside to attract tourists,” the DFO said, displaying a graph showing an increase in visitors. “Our main aim is to rescue and rehabilitate animals and breed them in captivity. We wish to make this centre one-of-a-kind in the country,” he added.
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.
A bi-weekly express between Nizamabad and Sambalpur will be introduced on March 23. The train No.8310 will leave Nizamabad at 6.15 p.m. on Tuesdays and Saturdays, arrive/leave Secunderabad at 9.25 p.m. before reaching Sambalpur at 8.15 p.m. the next day. This service will commence on March 24.
The train no 8309 will depart from Sambalpur at 8.15 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays, will arrive/leave at Secunderabad at 8.20/8.40 a.m the next day. It will reach Nizamabad at 11.50 a.m. This service will commence on March 23.
This train will connect the Sambalpur-Titlagarh-Rayagada part of Orissa with Hyderabad. With this the direct connectivity between Sambalpur and major cities in the southern states will be as follows:
Hydearbad: Twice a week
Bangalore: Thrice a week
Chennai: Daily
Kochi, Coimbatore: Daily
Vishakapatnam: Fifteen times a week
Vijayawada: Twelve times a week
Earlier in February, Ranchi-Varanasi Express was extended to Sambalpur twice a week. With that extension, Sambalpur’s direct connectivity to other parts of India are as follows:
Kolkata: Twice daily
Delhi, Amritsar: Thrice a week
Varanasi: Twice a week
Mumbai: Twice (to become Thrice) a week
Ahmedabad, Surat: Weekly
Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhopal: Weekly
Ranchi: Eighteen times a week
Tata: Twenty two times a week
Dhanbad, Bokaro: Daily
Nagpur: Four (to become five) times a week.
Raipur: Eleven (to become twelve) times a week.
Jharsuguda Junction is only 50 kms from Sambalpur. If one takes into account trains throughJharsuguda then the connectivity to Mumbai and Kolkata skyrockets, to Delhi and Ahmedabad increases significantly and to Pune is added.
Passengers to Kolkata would now have as many as three Rajdhanis to choose from, with the Railways deciding to extend Bilaspur Rajdhani up to Howrah with immediate effect.
At present, Howrah and Sealdah Rajdhanis connect Delhi to Kolkata.
However, the extension will be on an experimental basis for four months a release issued by Northern Railway said.
The extension would also benefit the people of the steel city of Rourkela, located between Bilaspur and Howrah, as they had been for long demanding a Rajdhani linking to the national capital.
Located in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
The Sixty Four Yoginis temple at Hirapur is a circular enclosure with a narrow doorway to the eastern side. The diameter of the enclosure is 7.62 meters or 25 feet and height of the wall on the paved floor inside is 1.87 metres or 6 feet 2 inches. Yogini was considered sacred, hence this temple was created. Inside the temple there are 60 niches and in every niche there is a figure of a Yogini. All the Yogini images stand and are carved on black chlorite stone.
Nandan Kanan National Park
Located in Chandaka Forests, 20km from Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.
The park is spread in about 4 sq.km. of area, while the wildlife
sanctuary is spread in around 5 sq. km. The park is home to more than 75 species of mammals and reptiles.The Nandan Kanan National park houses the very first captive gharial breeding centre of the country. Nandan Kanan justifies its literal meaning i.e. "Garden of Pleasure".
Lingaraja Bhubaneshwar Temple
Located in Bhubaneswar, Orissa.
The Lingaraja temple is located in a spacious courtyard covering
over 250000 sq feet and is bounded by fortified walls. Its tower rises up to 180 feet and is elaborately carved. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva and the Lingam here is unique which is a harihara lingam -half Shiva and half Vishnu.
Built by Yayati Kesari in the 7th century. This temple is dedicated to Tribhubaneshwar or the Lord of Three Worlds. The Lingaraja temple is about 1000 years old.
Udaygiri and Khandagiri Caves
The caves are located atop the twin hills known as Udayagiri
(meaning the hill of the sunrise) and Khandagiri (meaning the
broken hill) which rise abruptly from the coastal plain, about 6km
West of Bhubaneswar, separated by a highway. Udaygiri caves are approximately 135 ft high and Khandagiri caves are 118 ft high.
The main attraction of these caves consists of its stupendous carvings. Of all the caves in Udaygiri, the largest one is the Rani Gumpha or the Queens Cave. The origin of the rock cut caves of Udaygiri and Khandagiri dates back to the 2nd century BC.
The caves are reminiscent of influence of Buddhism and Jainism in Orissa. The inscription and carvings on the walls show that they once served as Jain Monasteries.
Raghurajpur Craftsman Village
Located 14 kms from Puri in Orissa. The village is inhabited by artisans producing sheer poetry on pieces of treated cloth, dried palm leaf or paper. The Villages runs from east to west with houses arranged in two neat rows facing each other. In the centre runs a line of small temples. The village has a community of artisans who produce different verities of handicraft items like pata paintings, palm leaf
engravings, stone carvings, wooden toys and mask, wood carving, wooden toys, cow-dung toys, tusser paintings, etc.
Puri Beach
Located on Shores of Bay of Bengal, at a mere distance of 35 kms from the Sun Temple and 65 kms from Bhubaneshwar. Pilgrims from all over India visit Puri to take a dip in the holy water of the rolling waves which is considered religious. It is renowned for the sand sculptures created particularly by the internationally famed Sudarshan Patnaik. Puri is the abode of Lord Jagannath and considered one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage destinations. The beach is a festive place where people come to relax and be entertained. It serves as the venue of the Puri Beach Festival.
Sun Temple, Konark
Situated at a distance from the famous religious and tourist centre of Puri (35 Km.) and the capital city of Bhubaneswar (65 Km). The entire temple was designed in the shape of a colossal chariot with seven horses and twenty four wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate carvings. The Sun Temple of Konark marks the highest point of achievement of Kalinga architecture depicting the grace, the joy and the rhythm of
life all it`s wondrous variety. It was built by King Raja Narasinghs Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty in the thirteenth century. It is a temple to Surya, the sun God.
Chilika Lake
Chilika Lake (also called Chilka lake) is a brackish water coastal lake in India`s Orissa state, south of the mouth of the Mantei River.
The area of the lake varies from 1165 km sq. in the monsoon season to 906 km sq. in the dry season, and is studded with numerous small islands. The lake is an important habitat and breeding ground for both
resident and migratory and aquatic birds, most notably flamingoes.
The lake was formed due to the silting action of the Mantei River
which drains into the northern end of the lake, and the northerly
currents in the Bay of Bengal, which have formed a sandbar along the eastern shore leading to the formation of a shallow lagoon.
The main attractions inside the lake are Kalijai Island, Honeymoon Island, Breakfast Island, Birds Island, Nalabana (Island of Reeds) and Parikud Island.
The Other Five sites in Orissa:
Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
Found in the Indian Ocean along the Bay of Bengal is Orissa. Average weight of the turtles is just over 100 lb (up to 50 kgs). They have a high-domed shell, with a carapace length of only 30 inches (70 cms). Olive Ridleys are omnivorous, feeding on crabs, shrimp, rock lobsters, sea grasses, snails, fish, sessile, pelagic tunocates and small invertebrates. The Orissa coast is one of the three sites worldwide where mass nesting of the olive ridley turtle occurs. This sea turtle is especially known for its mass nesting when several thousand turtles migrate to the breeding ground to mate and nest simultaneously. Hindu mythology worships sea turtles as an incarnation of one their gods. Over the past five years, sea turtles have suffered mass mortality along the Orissa coast due to death by drowning as incidental catch in trawl- fishing nets. About 5000 to 10,000 dead turtles have been washed ashore each year, a total of over 100,000 in the last ten years.
Sitabinji Caves
Situated on River Sita, 30 km from Keonjhar. The structure is like a half opened umbrella. It depicts a royal procession.
It has gained prominence for the ancient fresco painting on a rock shelter called “Ravan Chhaya”.
Khandadhar Waterfall is located amidst the forest of Sundergarh (specific location is Nandapani). The Khandadhar Falls is categorized as a horsetail waterfall. The falls appear to be located on a smaller watercourse, though are said to be perennial.
During the monsoon months the water from the Koprani Nala, a rivulet, overflows and it drops down as a fall from a height of 800 feet.
This waterfall because of its height is visible from a distance of about 5 kilometres.
Located 15 km from Sambalpur, Orissa. The Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur in the state of Orissa in India. The dam regulates the flow of the Mahanadi River and produces hydroelectricity through several hydroelectric plants. Hirakund dam is about 4.8 km long, bordered by earthen dykes on its left as well as right. Built in 1956, the dam is the world`s largest earthen dam. The dam helps control floods in the Mahanadi delta and irrigates 7,500,000 hectares of land. Hirakud dam was the first post- independence river valley project in India.
Sleeping Vishnu Temple
The sleeping statue of Lord Vishnu is situated in Bhimkund, at a distance of about 28 kilometres from Talcher. The sleeping image of Vishnu at Bhimkund is second only to Gomateswar (Karnataka) in size. It has the honour of being the largest sleeping image in India.
In spite of its magnanimity, image contains a natural softness. The period of its creation is believed to be 8th-9th century AD.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the Union ministry of civil aviation will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Orissa government very soon for the development of a second airport in the state at Jharsuguda.
"We have already submitted the draft MoU to the state government and discussed the matter with the Orissa Chief Secretary for the development of the proposed airport at Jharsuguda", said PK Singhal, executive director, AAI (eastern region). At present, the state has only one full-fledged airport in Bhubaneswar.
He, however, said the commencement and completion of the new airport depends on the availability of land from the state government. Around 90 acres of land was required for the development of the airport at the industrial town of in south Orissa.
AAI would invest about Rs 80crore in the first phase of the project while the investment in the second phase would depend on the traffic of the airport, he stated.
… Singhal, however, ruled out any other proposal to develop or upgrade airstrips in the state to a full-fledged airport apart from Jharsuguda. “We have not received any other proposal from the government for the development of airport in the state apart from Jharsuguda", he said.
There are 16 airstrips and 12 helipads in the state for landing of aircrafts and helicopters.
There is also a plan to install radars in Jharsuguda. Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.
In a bid to strengthen security in the wake of Mumbai terror attack, Airport Authority of India will soon install three monopulse secondary surveillance radars (MSSR) in Orissa and West Bengal.
… The radars would be installed in Kolkata and Raniganj in West Bengal and Jharsuguda in Orissa for proper surveillance of aircraft moving in the region, Mr Singhal said.
At present only one MSSR is functioning here in Orissa’s Ganjam district since 1992.
The radar installed at Berhampur is capable of making surveillance up to 400 km in air path and functions without an airport, he said.
… 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.
Note, that Jajpur-Rd Duburi is also being 4-laned. With all these 4-laning, Kalinganagar area will be surrounded by four 4-lane segment: NH-5, NH-200, NH-215 and Jajpur Rd-Duburi.
There is plan to four-lane Bhubaneswar-Puri. The Orissa government should pursue the four-laning of the following:
NH-42 from Cuttack to Angul
NH-23 from Talcher to NH-6
The Orissa government should team up with Jharkhand to 4-lane
NH-23 from Rourkela to Ranchi
NH-83 from Jamshedpur to NH-6
NH-5 between NH-6 and Balasore (the last two need for port access in the upcoming ports in the Balasore district)
The Orissa government should team up with West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh and Maharashtra for four-laning NH-6 completely.
These actions will 4-lane the upper part of Orissa with fairly direct 4-lane paths from many areas of Orissa to Delhi and Mumbai. (Fairly direct 4-lane connections exist between Orissa to the south and Kolkata.)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval for the development of 4 laning of (i) Panikoili-Keonjhar-Rimouli, (ii) Rimouli-Roxy-Rajmundra sections of NH-215 and (iii) Chandikhole-Duburi-Talcher Section of NH-200 in the State of Orissa under NHDP Phase III A on BOT Basis.
The project cost of (i) Panikoili-Keonjhar-Rimouli section (163 km) is estimated as Rs.1170.59 crore including Rs.84.40 crore towards Land Acquisition (LA), Rehabilitation and Resettlement and preconstruction. Similarly, the estimated cost for Rimouli-Roxy-Rajmundra (106 km) and Chandikhole-Duburi-Talcher Section (133 km) are Rs.849.05 crore and Rs.969.63 crore respectively. The cost towards LA, R&R and preconstruction of other two projects are Rs.195.29 crore and Rs.185.63 crore respectively. The Government would provide the viability gap funding (VGF), which would not exceed 40% of the total project cost excluding the cost of LA, R&R and pre-construction.
The project will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through the Private Sector Concessionaires who will be selected by NHAI following two stage bidding process. The first stage of the bidding process i.e. pre-qualification of the bidders has already been completed by NHAI. The second stage of bidding process is in progress.
The Concession period for the Panikoili-Keonjhar-Rimouli section will be 20 years. For Chandikhole-Duburi-Talcher Section and Rimouli-Roxy-Rajmundra section the concession period is 18 and 25 years respectively.
The Orissa government today cleared projects worth Rs 1,27, 727 crore in steel, aluminium, power, downstream and ore beneficiation sectors.
The list includes 3 projects in the steel sector, 2 projects in the aluminium sector, 6 projects in the power sector, one downstream unit, and two beneficiation and pelletisation units.
… enhancement of the steel capacity of Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) from 1.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa) to 3.2 mtpa at Kalinganagr Industrial Complex at an investment of Rs 16,266 crore and enhancement of capacity of Visa Steel in the same location from 0.35 mtpa to 1.5 mtpa at an investment of Rs 4995 crore were approved by HLCA.
The public sector aluminum major Nalco’s proposal to set up a 0.5 mtpa alumina smelter and 1260 mw power plant in two phases (840Mw + 420 Mw) at an investment of Rs 16,345.89 crore was also approved. Though the company preferred to set up the project at Brajarajnagar, the location might change. The company is seeking 275.30 hectares of land for the smelter and 575.7 hectares for the power plant.
Similarly, the proposal of the Navayuga Steels for setting up a 12 mtpa port based steel complex at Astaranga in Puri district at an investment of Rs 34,000 crore was cleared by the HLCA. The project will come up in 4 phases and the government will not commit any raw material linkage to it.
Though the company requires 4000 acres of land, the government will assess the land requirement as per the benchmarking report after the company submits the detailed project report (DPR), the minister added.
The public sector National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) was given the green signal to set up a 3200 Mw coal based mega power plant at an investment of Rs19,840 crore near the village Gajamara in Dhenkanal district. It requires about 3000 acres of land for the project and will source water from Mahanadi.
However, Jindal Stainless’ proposal to set up 1000 Mw Independent Power Producer (IPP) at an investment of Rs 4090 crore in the same location did not find favour with HLCA with the committee asking the company to change the site of the project.
Other projects which received the nod of HLCA are Rs 6800 crore investment proposal of RSB Metal-tech for setting up 1.4 mtpa alumina refinery, 0.35 mtpa aluminium smelter and 900 Mw CPP at an investment of Rs 6800 crore, Kalinga Energy’s 1000Mw thermal power project at an investment of Rs 4261 crore at Babuchakuli, Arati Steel’s 500Mw thermal power project at Ghantikhal in Cuttack district, Rs 4994 crore investment proposal of Chambal Infrastructures and Ventures Limited for setting up of 1200Mw thermal power plant at Siaria in Dhenkanal district.
Besides, Hyderabad based Lanco Solar’s 250 Mw fully integrated plant to manufacture crystalline silicon solar cells at an investment of Rs 2800 crore in Dhenkanal district, Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL)’s downstream and ancillary complex in Sambalpur district at an investment of Rs 1953.87 crore, JSW Steel’s proposal to set up 7 mtpa iron ore beneficiation plant and 5 mtpa pelletisation plant at Kamalang in Sundergarh district at an investment of Rs 1450 crore were through in today’s meeting.
Besides, the proposal of Welspun Orissa Steel to set up a 4.5 mtpa beneficiation plant at Nayagarh in Keonjhar district and 4.4 mtpa pellet plant at Dhamra in Bhadrakh district with an envisaged investment of Rs 1963 crore, the proposal of Astaranga Power Company to set up a 2460 Mw power plant at Astaranga at an estimated cost of Rs 11,200 crore were approved by the HLCA.
However, the decision on the 700 mw (Rs 1007crore) power plant proposal of Ind Bharat Energy, 1320 mw (Rs 5604 crore) power plant proposal of Sahara India Power Corporation and the 1100 Mw (Rs 4810 crore ) power plant proposal of Visaka Thermal were deferred.
I believe that for Orissa to develop several urban centers and clusters need to be developed. So far many are developing. The ones marked with red are either developed or are in the path of development. The one in purple (Keonjhar) has a good chance of development. The three green ones in the big green zone, denoting Bhwanipatna, Balangir and Phulbani are in need of development. The following table lists what these various urban areas and clusters have or are going to have and what they don’t have and the govt. should make efforts to fulfill those lacunae.
In the midst of implementing a $4 billion aluminium project in Orissa, NRI Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta group, has started a Rs 300-crore township project with the support of a Chinese firm to accommodate its over a 1,000 engineers and technical workforce.
Claiming that the project would be comparable if not better than what Mukesh Ambani-led RIL developed at Jamnagar in Gujarat, group company Vedanta Aluminium is importing services of China’s leading architect firm ECADI at a time when reality majors are reeling under a slump.
"We at Vedanta feel it is our duty not only to provide a conducive working atmosphere, but also best living comforts," company’s Director and CEO M Siddiqi said, adding, the township project would be completed by end of next year.
The township project, a concept popularised by PSUs in India, is crucial for the overall aluminium unit, first stage of which has already been commissioned and the second stage is targeted for completion next year, to attract and retain talent in the backward area of Jharsuguda in Orissa.
The Vedanta project envisages providing sophisticated and urban living accommodations and amenities to over 1,400 employees, who are already stationed at Jharsuguda aluminium plant.
The metals and mining major plans to pump in a whopping $4 billion to ramp up the capacity of its aluminium smelter to 1.8 million tonne by 2010.
At present, its operational capacity is 2,50,000 tonne, which would go up to 5,00,000 tonne by March 2009.
For meeting its power requirement, the company has set up a 675 MW power plant, the capacity of which will go up to 1,215 MW post-commissioning of the smelter’s first phase expansion.
The State Government will lease out unused land of Orissa State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) at Cuttack, Baripada and here to the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for commercial purpose.
The OSRTC has prime land at Master Canteen, Pala Mandap in Cuttack and Baripada town. The corporation will lease out the Master Canteen land to RIL for 33 years for Rs 20 crore. Reliance has proposed to open retail outlets and has agreed to pay a monthly rental of Rs 15 lakh.
The company has reportedly deposited Rs 6 crore with the Government for the OSRTC land at Baripada town. However, OSRTC will collect monthly rent from RIL for all the leased out plots. Rent will be revised every five years.
The proceeds from leased out land will be invested for procurement of more buses and modernisation of the Government bus stands.
In the first phase, five bus stands at Angul, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dhenkanal and Sambalpur will be modernised under the public-private partnership.
While the bus stands of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Sambalpur will be renovated, two new bus stands will be developed at Angul and Dhenkanal.
The public utility has 230 on road buses and plans are afoot to add another 50 to its fleet. The corporation has submitted a proposal to the Government for pay revision of the employees, official sources said.
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.
Aditya Birla Group, one of the largest business houses of the country having interests in sectors like aluminium, telecom, cement, textiles, fertiliser, mining, retail, finance and insurance plans to invest about Rs 75,000 – 80,000 crore in Orissa.
The proposed amount will be invested in sectors like aluminium,cement, telecom and retail sectors in the state over next few years.
… Birla, who was here to discuss some project related issues with the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, the company also intends to launch its retail business in Orissa as part of its national roll out plan. It will be launched within the next 6 months.
… Stating that the projects are proceeding well, he said, the company is committed to a lot of social work like setting up ITIs and health centres at the project sites.
… Regarding the resistance of the local people to the alumina refinery project Utkal Alumina at Raygada, the group chairman said, a lot of projects are facing the same problem. The company has sought the state government’s intervention in resolving the issue.
He said, ABG took over the company four years ago from Alcan Inc and the company has complied with the rehabilitation and resettlemnet (R& R) package given to it. He, however, was non-commital about any additional package for the project affected people.
" We can not commit on the new package. As long as there is reasonable settlement we will be happy", he pointed out.
Regarding the possibility of investing in the port sector of the state, Birla said, the company is persuing the matter with the Orissa government and is expecting a positive outcome.
It may be noted, Essel Mining, a group company of the ABG had earlier proposed the state government to set up a port at Chudamani. However, the state government had not accepted its proposal.
The major projects of the group in Orissa include Utkal Alumina refinery at Raygada, Hindalco’s alumina smelter and power plant at Sambalpur and 3.5 million tonne per annum cement plant in Sundergarh district.
National Aluminium Company (Nalco) is exploring the possibility of setting up a greenfield aluminium smelter and captive power plant near Jharsuguda, western Orissa at an investment of more than Rs 14,000 crore.
The capacity of the proposed smelter is pegged at 5 lakh tonnes per annum with a captive generation facility of 1,250 mw. The alumina required for the project is likely to be sourced from Nalco’s existing refinery at Damanjodi.
Engineer’s India (EIL), which has been appointed the consultant, has found the project technically feasible.
Jharsuguda is being chosen as the possible site for the plant as it is in the vicinity of the IB valley coal reserves. While the company has the required technology, land acquisition is expected to be trouble-free as most part of the identified patch is government land and barren.
… "Yes, we have plans to set up a smelter and captive power plant in Jharsuguda to add about 9 lakh tonne alumina capacity which is exported annually now. The project’s fate does not hinge on the availability of water," B L Bagra, director (finance), Nalco, told Business Standard.
Meanwhile, the state-owned Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa (Ipicol) has forwarded the company’s application for water from IB river to the water resources department.
Maytas Infra Ltd (MIL) is an infrastructure development, construction and project management company with more than two decades of experience in execution of complex & challenging landmark projects across the country. The company recently forayed into segments such as airports, seaports, oil and gas pipelines. MIL plans to diversify into new verticals like mining and related activities, manufacture of construction material and providing advisory & consultancy services.
… MIL’s new projects include railway siding project for Vedanta Industries in Orissa, Chennai MT Project & Hyderabad MRTS project.
… Its current projects include Vedanta Aluminium’s, Residential Township in Orissa worth Rs. 232.7 crore …
… MIL in JV with other firms is currently working on setting up 464MW Gas based Gautami Power project in AP, 100MW Sorang Hydro Power Project in Himachal Pradesh, 300MW KVK Nilachal thermal power project in Orissa and 56MW coal washery reject based SV Power project.
The Orissa government has already involved itself in preparing the master plan for greater Bhubaneswar area. Now there is news regarding its intention to make master plans for 8 more areas. These areas are: Puri-Konark, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Kalinganagar, Paradeep, Jharsuguda, and Talcher-Angul. The govt. is missing a few other areas which it should take up soon. Those are: Baripada, Balasore, Dahamara, Rayagada-Therubali and Koraput-Jeypore. Following are excerpts from a report in Statesman on Orissa govt.’s recent thoughts on this.
In a bid to give major facelift to the upcoming urban areas of the state and for their integrated development, the government will prepare a master plan, within one and half years. The localities include Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Puri-Konark, Talcher-Angul, Paradip, Kalinga Nagar and Jharsuguda. … Mr Patnaik underscored the need of adequately trained personnel to successfully handle the technical problems of under-ground sewerage and solid waste management,…. He also stressed on better sanitation, drinking water, housing and slum development. It may be mentioned here that while Rs 950 crore from the funds of JBIC has been sanctioned for sewerage of Cuttack; the capital city has been allotted Rs 499 crore for the same under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Rs 88 crore has been sanctioned for drinking water in Cuttack, Berhampur and Sambalpur. Rs 3.65 crore has also been allotted for slum development in Bhubaneswar.
Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and neighbouring towns will be developed into a greater urban complex of international standards catering to the needs of 42 lakh people by 2030.
The final perspective plan to this effect was presented to chief minister Naveen Patnaik here today by a team from IIT, Kharagpur. B.K. Sengupta, heading the team, said the comprehensive development plan for Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Choudwar, Khurda and Jatni would be ready by August 2008.
Subsequently, development plans would be prepared for places like Rourkela, Puri, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Talcher-Angul, Kalinga Nagar and Jharsuguda industrial complex, said state urban development minister K.V. Singhdeo.
The final perspective plan has envisaged comprehensive development of a greater urban complex comprising twin cities of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and three adjoining towns spread over 721sqkm at an estimated cost of Rs 34,000 crore.
The required funds would be mobilised through public-private partnership, central government and state government and community contribution, said the urban development minister.
While 11 special zones have been earmarked for extensive development, four have been identified for intensive development and three places (Old Bhubaneswar, Choudwar and Old Cuttack) having heritage value have been set aside for restricted development. Seven sensitive pockets have also been identified.
A patch of farmland on the east of the Kuakhai flowing near Bhubaneswar has also been earmarked for agriculture. The final perspective plan has dwelt on various aspects like transport, traffic decongestion, upgrade of road system, slum development and drainage. Construction of overhead bridges and bypass and the upgrade of road systems have also been planned.
Drainage and sewerage development has also been planned in the twin cities.
A solid waste management plant has been proposed in Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar-Cuttack would be made slum-free. The shanties would be removed and the dwellers would be resettled in planned rehabilitation colonies to be built by private builders on the Dharavi model in Mumbai.
Tata’s budget hotel chain Ginger is expected to open doors to foodies in Paradip and Konark by the end of 2008.
Chief executive officer of Roots Corporation, Prabhat Pani said, they have already acquired one acre of land each in both these towns and would start construction in the next two months. Plans are also afoot to come up with a Ginger hotel in industrial towns like Jharsuguda, Angul and Kalinga Nagar in the next couple of years.
Roots Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Group and manages the Ginger chain of hotels. The company entered into the State in September last year with the launch of Ginger in the city.
At a public hearing at Badmal bazaar here on Thursday, Vedanta Alumina Limited (VAL) allayed fears of villagers regarding issues like pollution and periphery development after its proposed expansion.
… The villagers were told that a report will be submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board and Ministry of Environment and Forest for their nod. Villagers also raised apprehensions on jobs for locals.
In his reply, General Manager (PR & CSR), VAL Orissa Projects, Prashant Kumar Hota made a presentation on the state-of-the-art technology being used to prevent noise, water, air and hazardous waste pollution. Even fly-ash generated will be recycled.
Later talking to this paper, Hota informed that a mobile medical unit is catering to about 4500 patients. He said plans are on to construct a 50- bed hospital in one of the villages.
Shamuka Beach in Orissa near Puri is being developed as a high-end luxury tourism destination by the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation. The department has acquired a 1000 acre property south of Puri, and is in the process of acquiring 2000 acres more. It is a natural island and is being developed by the name Shamuka Beach project. Divulging further details about the project, Asit K Tripathi, secretary, Orissa Tourism, says, "It is going to be one of India’s best integrated, dedicated and up market tourism project, with only 5-star hotels. We had advertised and the response has been overwhelming. We have got responses from leading players in the country as well as abroad. ITC-Welcomgroup, the DLF-Hilton combine, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, IHHR’s Ananda Spa, Casino Group of Hotels Earth (CGH Earth), The Oberoi Group, Apeejay Surrendra Group, Marriott International, and Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific have all shown interest. We can allot land to approximately 20 national and international hotel brands. We are coming out with a blue print to develop infrastructure. The third stage will be to establish a golf course and convention center. This will raise the value of Orissa as a leisure destination." "Although we have 934 hotels in Orissa and 2000 rooms, the majority cater to primarily low spending groups, and the rest target high spending tourists or corporates. With this initiative, within 1-2 years, we will have more quality rooms," says Devi Prasad Mishra, tourism minister, Orissa. Samukha Beach and Puri, as well as industrial growth centers like Paradeep, Talcher, Kalinganagar, as well as Jharsuguda and Angul have generated interest from the hospitality industry in recent times – especially budget hotels and business hotels. The no-frills brand of The Indian Hotels Company, Ginger Hotels opened their first hotel in Bhubaneshwar. Carlson Hotels Asia Pacific plans to open its Radisson Hotels & Resorts in Chilika, Puri and Bhubaneswar. Cabana Group, the master licensee of the world-renowned chain of hotels – Best Western International from California is setting-up an international standard culinary college cum 5-star property in Bhubaneswar, and is eyeing Puri to develop the brand.
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