Note: In 2007 industry minister of Orissa had stated that (read here) three industrial hubs have also been identified at Jajpur, Jharsuguda and Kalahandi areas for focused ancillary and downstream industrial development.But Kalahandi was later on NOT mentioned in the list of state Govt and Rayagada was included which we had protested in a letter (text is given below). However, now we found many other names were included along with Kalahandi for industrial development park.
Text of our protest letter (hard copy was sent to concern authorities) is given below:
Sept 26, 2008
To
The President of India, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi - 110 004, India
CC to:
The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi, Pin code: 110 001, India
The Chief Minister of Orissa, Mr Naveen Patnaik
Aerodrome Road, Bhubaneswar,
Pin code: 751 001, Orissa, India
Dear Honorable President of India, Shrimati Patil,
A recent survey (Reported on Sept 22, 2008, India Today) has put Kalahandi among bottom five constituencies for worst infrastructure development in India. Kalahandi is known for starvation, poverty and backwardness and often used as synonym for starvation, poverty and backwardness all over the world by the media and social workers.
Kalahandi is located in the central place among all KBK districts in Orissa (Reference 1: Map is attached) and it is also centrally located (Reference 2: Map attached) in the South-Western Orissa comprising Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajpati, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Balangir, Kandhamal, Boud, Sonepure and Bargarh districts which are together known as most backward pocket in the South Asia by World Bank. Location of Kalahandi, especially Bhawanipatna, is best suitable as central location for whole region. Bhawanipatna should have been developed as a regional center for the development of whole region but Orissa state Govt. has always ignored it over Koraput due to ill political and bureaucratic motivations. Despite geographical advantage in the above region and scrutinize by the media and social workers every year for backwardness, surprisingly Orissa state Government has been showing repeatedly ignorance towards Kalahandi since years.
Esteem Madam, I would like to draw following fact sheets showing ignorance towards Kalahandi by Orissa state Government despite Kalahandi is geographical epicenter in KBK region for your kind attention.
Ignorance in Administration:
Kalahandi is centrally located among KBK districts and Bhawanipatna is center among major towns in KBK in Orissa, however, when Orissa Government proposed to establish the present KBK head quarter it decided to establish in Koraput (due to personal interest of few state politicians and bureaucrats) without giving any thoughts on rationality and by totally ignoring demand of people of Kalahandi and Balangir region to establish it in Kalahandi. Most of the KBK administrative and related offices are functioning either in Bhubaneswar (Khordha) or Berhampur or Koraput instead of Kalahandi, Balangir and Koraput by totally marginalizing Kalahandi and Balangir region to have any administrative office of KBK.
Ignorance in Industrial Development:
Orissa state Government identified three industrial hubs at Jajapur, Jharsuguda and Kalahandi for focused anicilliary and downstream industrial development. Orissa’s industrial minister Mr Biswabhusan Harichandan revealed it (Reported in Organiser, Jan 8, 2007). However, later on Orissa Government shifted the proposed industrial hub from Kalahandi to undivided Koraput district due to ill political motivation by administrations.
Ignorance in Higher Education:
Realizing a central institution would bring enormous development and help to change the present image of Kalahandi, social organizations and many intellectuals, local politicians etc have been working continuously and seriously towards establishing a central University in Kalahandi since two decades. People of Kalahandi have already submitted a memorandum to the Government of India and Orissa state Government bearing 80,000 signatures for a central University in Kalahandi on January 14, 2002 (Reported in Dharitri (Oriya), Aug 13, 2008). 4000 post card letters have been sent in this matter. Many emails, letters, fax letters etc from all over the world specially but not limited to from the people living in various states in India, USA, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Lebanon etc are sent since last few years to the President of India, Prime minister of India, Union Minister of Human Resource Development and Chief Minister of Orissa to establish a central university in Kalahandi. However, the Chief Minister of Orissa initially promised (Reported on May 8, 2008, The New Indian Express, Bhubaneswar,) to establish 350 crore Central University in Kalahandi but later on shifted to Koraput to satisfy personal interests of few politicians and bureaucrats despite location of Central University in Kalahandi suits more to all KBK districts as it is located centrally to all KBK districts and major towns in KBK (Reported on May 31, 2008, The Pioneer, Bhubaneswar.)
Ignorance in National Highway:
National Highway (NH) 217 was proposed to pass through Bhawanipatna town of Kalahandi. The national highway map, google map and yahoo map show NH217 passing through Bhawanipatna town of Kalahandi district. However, due to political ignorance later on this NH217 was diverted from Bhawanipatna to some other route by the state Government. People of Kalahandi are not yet sure why such a decision was taken. If it were to reduce the distance between Raipur and Gopalpur then there was no consistency on such argument when state Government recently proposed Vijayawada – Ranchi national highway to the union Government of India.
The shortest possible route for Vijaywada – Ranchi would be via Rayagada, Bisham Katak, Paikadukulguda, Kotagada, Siritiguda, Nuagaon, G. Udayagiri and Phulbani and not via passing though Chief Minister’s home district such as via Digapahandi, Asika and Bhanjanagar as proposed by state Government. The route was politically manipulated. If such manipulation could be possible in favor of Chief Minister’s home district (Asika was his Lok Sabha constituency and Hinjili is his assembly constituency) then the Vijayawada-Ranchi highway could also be proposed via Koraput, Dasmantpur, Kashipur, Bhawanipatna, Tumudibanda, Nuagaon, G.Udayagiri and Phulbani which would have benefited backward regions of Kalahandi, Koraput, Rayagada and Kandhamal districts substantially without appreciably changing the distance between Vijayawada and Ranchi.
In addition our proposed route via Kashipur, Bhawanipatan and Tumudibanda would have further benefitted by covering a large portion of Kandhamal district bringing more development to a district that is often tense for communal and tribal violence and is equally backward. While proposing National Highway such political manipulation against backward regions that are ranked at the bottom five constituencies in the country in worst infrastructure (Reported by Indian Today, September 22, 2008) should be stopped by Orissa Government.
Ignorance in Railway:
State Government has often raised for railway development in other parts of Orissa, but it has never shown any interest on extension of Jungarh – Amagura line which was proposed in 1990 and has been a long standing demand in the region (Reported in Dharitri, August 7, 2007, The Statesman, March 1, 2007). No survey has been taken place for this line so far. Other important lines which connect most of the districts in undivided Kalahandi, Balangir, Koraput and Kandhamal such as Kantabanji – Khariar –Dharamgarh –Ampani-Nabarangpur –Jeypore and Lanjigarh road – Phulbani – Anugul have not yet been proposed and surveyed by the Indian railway despite most of these districts are at the bottom of worst infrastructure development.
Ignorance in major Bridge Construction:
Submergence of NH-201, one of the major routes in the region, by the overflowing Hati river water near Junagarh in rainy days has been a routine and serious concern since past decade affecting lakhs of commuters (Reported by Dharitri on Aug 8, 2007). It is also affecting road movement from Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balangir, Angul and Bhawanipatna to Jeypore, Sunabeda, Damanjodi, Nabarangpur and Koraput and vice versa. A high-level new bridge is required over the Hati River near Junagarh on NH 201 over the present low-lying bridge (Reported by The Pioneer, Bhubaneswar, Aug 2, 2007). Despite public demand since last decade for a new bridge over NH 201 near Junagarh, the Government has remained callous. In another instance Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation stone in 2003 for a new bridge over the same river at Kalampur, but construction work is yet to start (Reported by The Samaja (Oriya), Feb 25, 2008). Another important bridge over Udanti River near Kegaon connecting Kalahandi and Balangir regions has not been approved though KBK get special grants towards infrastructure development.
Ignorance in State Highway:
Similarly, state Government has announced many state highways across the states, but no importance was given to major infrastructure development of KBK region for a state highway in the Bongomunda – Dharamgarh – Moter- Jaipatna – Raniguda route connecting Padampur sub-division of Bargarh district, Patnagarh sub-division of Balangir distrct, all the Nuapada district, Dharamgarh sub-division of Kalahandi district with Koraput and Malkangiri. Similarly, Junagarh – Kalampur – Thuamul Rampur – Kasipur route is crucial to link above regions with Rayagada and Gajpati. Nothing has been done despite huge public demand for the above state highways.
It is surprising that despite huge claim by central and state Governments that lots of money is being spent in KBK, the main and crucial infrastructure development has not yet been achieved in decades. It brings a big question how rural development in infrastructure would have been doing in this region?
Appeal:
KBK region is getting special grants from both Central Government and state Government of Orissa. However, most of the money was left unutilized and in reality there was no improvement in major infrastructure development in the local and regional level in Kalahandi due to political ignorance towards the region by Orissa Government.
I have repeatedly urged Government of Orissa about the ignorance and injustice towards Kalahandi and millions of people living there on the above issues.
I request you being head of the country to interfere in this matter and take it to concern administrations so that Orissa state Government stops its ill motivation and ignorance towards Kalahandi and bring infrastructure and over all development to Kalahandi as mentioned above.
Thank you and kind regards
Yours sincerely
..........................................................................
Orissa reserves 20% land in industrial estates for MSMEs
Business Standard, April 14, 2010
To meet the infrastructure needs of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) on a priority basis, the Orissa government has reserved 20 per cent of the area in all industrial estates, industrial parks, industrial corridors and land banks for such units.
Further, the state-owned Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) will promote new exclusive zones for MSMEs in all major industrial hubs of the state.
The locations where exclusive industrial parks will be promoted include Kalinganagar, Barbil, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Dhenkanal, Rourkela, Baragarh, Balasore, Dhamara, Gopalpur, Chhatrapur, Raygada, Kalahandi and Choudwar.
Such exclusive zones will also come up near the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in the state.
“The government has notified reservation of 20 per cent land in all industrial estates for MSMEs”, a senior official of the state industry department told Business Standard.
The government has also decided that wherever land is provided to large and medium industries, 10 per cent of the land, subject to a maximum limit of 200 acres, will be earmarked for setting up MSMEs. This will facilitate the setting up of ancillary and downstream units, preferably in cluster mode, a source added.
This condition will be applicable to companies that have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government and those who are expected to sign MoUs later.
Sources said that Common Facility Centres (CFCs), to be set up by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) constituted for the MSME clusters, would be entitled for allotment of land free of cost at various locations in the state.
Idco, the land acquisition arm of the Orissa government, will earmark these locations. The CFCs’ land cost will be treated as the state government’s shareholding in the SPV.
To provide assured sources of raw material for such units, the Orissa Small Industries Corporation (OSIC) and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) will set up raw material banks.
The two organisations will act as nodal agencies for MSMEs and public sector resource companies will accord priority to OSIC and NSIC in supply of raw materials, which will be made available to MSMEs at the lowest possible rate.
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