Thursday, November 26, 2015

Central nod to IT park in Jeypore Rayagada, Bhawanipatna left out

Note: Why too much administrative negligence in Kalahandi? Because of not identifying the land, STPI in Bhawanipatna got delayed and postponed. I mentioned about STPI in my last year meeting in January to our honorable MLA from Bhawanipatna and Junagarh, so that they can take the issue with state Govt. and expedite it. It is time leaders and people of Kalahandi to take note of it.

Orissapost, Nov 25, 2015
Jeypore, Nov 25: A wave of joy Tuesday gripped this town in Koraput district after news of the Centre giving nod for establishment of an IT park here spread in the area.
A patch of three acres of land at Phulabada on the outskirts of the town has already been demarcated for the setting up of the park, a report said.
Earlier, the state government had sent a proposal to the Centre to open Software Technology Park of India (STPI) hub at Jeypore. Besides, Sambalpur, Bhawanipatna, Rayagada, Jajpur and Angul also featured in the proposal sent by the state government. The same was approved by the Centre.
Later, the state government identified land in Angul, Sambalpur, Jajpur and Jeypore towns and sent a report to the Centre for its final approval. Based on the report, the latter approved centres in  Angul, Sambalpur and Jajpur also. The proposal for the centres in Rayagada and Bhawanipatna  got delayed as the proposed land for the purpose couldn’t be identified, a report said.
At present three STPI centres are operating in Bhubaneswar, Rourkela and Berhampur while construction of the fourth one at Balasore is under way. According to sources, 96 IT companies operate from Bhubaneswar centre alone while six and three companies have got themselves registered in Rourkela and Berhampur centres respectively. 
It may be noted that there are 53 STPI centres in the country under which more than 8,000 units operate and export services besides manufacturing electronic hardware.
Putting emphasis on information technology, the Centre had started setting up STPIs in 1991. The department has set up separate jurisdictions for some STPIs for smooth management of the centres. The STPIs of Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand operate under Bhubaneswar jurisdiction.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

HC relief for medicos of default medical college

PTI, Nov 18, 2015
Cuttack, Nov 18 (PTI) In a major relief to 124 students of Sardar Rajas Medical College of Kalahandi, the Orissa High Court today directed the state government to adjust the medicos in other government and private medical colleges to enable them to complete their unfinished course.

Notwithstanding Odisha government s reluctance, the High Court agreed with the suggestions made by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and directed the government to adjust the medicos under government quota to Burla and Berhampur government medical colleges and those admitted under management quota to be transferred to three private colleges at Bhubaneswar.

A division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanti and Justice D P Choudhury also asked the state government to complete the transfer processes within two weeks and file an affidavit two weeks thereafter regarding compliance of the High Court order.

The executive council of MCI would ratify the transfer of the students in its meeting scheduled on November 27.

The state government had earlier expressed its reservation over MCI's suggestion saying that the shift of students of the default medical college to a government medical college at this stage would give unfair advantage to these students and the same would run counter to the "principles of equality" as many students ranked above them in AIPMT were deprived of this advantage.

Soon after pronouncement of the order, medicos present in the court premises expressed happiness.

"We were in a state of confusion for over three months after MCI disallowed the medical college to run the MBBS course from this academic year for lack of infrastructure and faculty. But thanks to the High Court, we are now relieved," said a medico, who had petitioned the HC.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Jaring Medical College Issue: HC asks Odisha Govt to explain stand on MCI proposal

Prameya, Nov 16, 2015
Also asks the Health Secretary to depose before bench in person
MCI wants 124 affected medicos to be relocated in state-run medical colleges
State Govt wants to relocate them in three private medical colleges
Bhubaneswar: Hearing the disputed case of Kalahandi district Jaring-based Sardar Rajas Medical College on Monday, Orissa High Court has ordered the Odisha Government to explain in writing why it is opposed to the proposal of Medical Council of India (MCI) on the vexed issue of relocating the 124 aggrieved medicos in the state-run medical colleges and has also directed the State Health Secretary to depose before the bench in person on Tuesday.
MCI wants that the 124 medicos pursuing medical courses in Jaring-based Sardar Rajas Medical College should be relocated in the three state-run medical colleges-Cuttack SCB, Berhampur MKCG and Burla VSS.
On the contrary, State Government wants to relocate them in the three private medical colleges- SUM, KIIT, Hi-Tech-situated in the state capital city here.
Talking to PrameyaNews7 over phone on Monday, defence lawyer Pitamber Acharya said that the Orissa High Court basing on the MCI proposal has sought State Government’s explanation.
Acharya argued on behalf of the medicos that Burla-based VSS Medical College has the requisite facility to relocate those students. They can also be relocated in the rest two state-run medical colleges.
He also argued that the SUM and KIIT are deemed universities.
As per reports, the controversial Jaring-based Sardar Rajas Medical College in Kalahandi district in western Odisha has been opened on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode by the Odisha Government and it is being run by a private trust.
The State Government has allocated Rs 10,000 crore and 27 acres of land to it.
The MCI has withdrawn its recognition citing infrastructural problems and inadequate and ineligible faculty following which the fate of 124 medicos admitted there hangs in balance for the last few months.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

HC asks Centre to settle medicos' issue soon

Press Trust of India, Nov 4, 2015
Cuttack, Nov 4 (PTI) The Orissa High Court has ordered the Union government to amicably settle the issue of medicos of Sardar Rajas Medical College and Hospital by discussing it with the state government and Medical Council of India by November 9 and file an affidavit in this regard 

Since the Odisha government has decided to shut down the Kalahandi-based teaching hospital, confusion prevails over the future of the present 124 medicos of the college.

The High Court had earlier ordered the state government to split the medicos among three private medical colleges in the state for completion of their courses.

On October 8, the state government had submitted a proposal to the MCI to relocate the students in three private medical colleges at Bhubaneswar.

The MCI, however, wanted to relocate those admitted in management quota to private colleges and others admitted under government quota to government colleges and accordingly submitted an affidavit in Orissa High Court stating that the Centre also endorses the proposal.

A division bench of justices Indrajit Mahanti and Dr D P Choudhury passed the order yesterday after the MCI filed its affidavit.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

MCI team inspects Sardar Rajas Medical College

Pragatibadi, Nov 3, 2015
Kalahandi: A four-member team of the Medical Council of India (MCI) on Monday inspected the Sardar Rajas Medical College in Kalahandi district and took stock of its infrastructure, faculty members and financial status.
Notably, the MCI had withdrawn its recognition and affiliation to the college on ground of poor infrastructure and inadequate faculty strength earlier this year. Recently, the Odisha High Court had directed the State government to accommodate 124 students of the college in other medical colleges of the State.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Crop Damage Widespread in Kalahandi, 234 Panchayats Affected

The New Indian Express (Bhubaneswar), Nov 2, 2015
BHAWANIPATNA:Erratic rainfall has affected the crops, particularly in non-irrigated areas of Kalahandi during the current kharif season. Of the total 272 gram panchayats, farmers in 234 gram panchayats have been affected and most of the villages come under non-irrigated pockets of the district.
 According to an eye estimate report prepared by the Agriculture Department, 49,304 hectares (ha) of paddy crops and 21,743 ha of non-paddy crops have been damaged due to erratic monsoon and moisture-stress condition, said Deputy Director of Agriculture, Laxman Palatasingh.
This season, the Agriculture Department had covered 3,83,701 ha with different crops for the kharif season, including paddy in 1,80,403 ha and non-paddy crops in 1,93,564 ha.
 Of the two sub-divisions in the district - Dharamgarh and Bhawanipatna - the maximum extent of damage has been noticed in Bhawanipatna. The only solace for Dharamgarh sub-division is the Indravati irrigation project that provides water to five blocks.
 According to the report, of 1,80,403 ha covered under paddy, crops have been damaged in 49,304 ha and out of this, 13,832 ha have suffered more than 66 per cent  damage. In another 35,472 ha, the damage is between 33 and 66 per cent.
Although in Indravati-irrigated pockets there is no water scarcity, the crops have been damaged by pests in Jaipatna, Kalampur, Junagarh and Dharamgarh blocks. Field staff of the department are providing technical advice to farmers.
As far as non-paddy crops are concerned, cotton, pulses and oil seeds were grown in 1,93,564 ha of which, 21,743 ha have been damaged due to moisture-stress condition.
Cotton was grown in 46,152 ha and a good yield was expected. However, the crop grown in sandy soil areas, particularly in Narla, Lanjigarh, Bhawanipatna, Kesinga and Golamunda blocks are facing moisture-stress condition. Under this situation, the crop yield will be much lesser than expected, said farmers.
The Agriculture Department is yet to prepare a contingency programme for Kalahandi district in the wake of the crop loss. Recently, 1,700 mini kits of mustard, sun flower and groundnut seeds were supplied to the Agriculture Directorate. As this was not sufficient to address the crisis, the district administration has urged the Agriculture Department to come up with a contingency plan for farmers.

State increases funds for KBK to Rs 250cr

Times of India, Nov 1, 2015
Bhubaneswar: The state government on Saturday announced to increase the fund for Biju Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi (KBK) scheme from Rs 120 crore to Rs 250 crore.

The scheme is being implemented in eight districts. These are Koraput, Nabarangapur, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Balangir, Sonepur, Kalahandi and Nuapada.

"Since the NDA government has stopped fund flow under the KBK scheme from the 2015-16, the state government has decided to continue the scheme with additional budgetary provision to continue the development works in the region," said an officer after a review meeting headed by chief minister Naveen Patnaik here.

According to an official statement issued by the chief minister's office, the state government would bear the additional Rs 130 crore from its own sources.

Former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao launched a long-term action plan for the KBK on August 18, 1995, with an aim to alleviate hunger and ushering in development in the region.

Though the Centre granted Rs 250 crore annually for the KBK scheme under the Revised Long Term Action Plan (RLTAP), the UPA government had reduced the amount to Rs 130 crore in 2006.

As Rs 130 crore was not adequate to carry out development projects, the state government launched the Biju KBK scheme in 2006. Since then, the state government has been bearing additional Rs 120 crore from its own sources.

The additional fund will be spent for augmentation of road infrastructure, restoration of lift irrigation points and digging up of deep borewells to boost irrigation facilities and setting up of more schools and hostels.

The chief minister has directed different departments to chalk out action plan for effective expenditure of the additional amount to be borne by the state government. "Budgetary provision for the additional Rs 130 crore would be made in the supplementary budget likely to be tabled in the assembly in December," the officer said.

In the current fiscal, the Centre has delinked its support from eight-centrally sponsored schemes, including Backward Region Grant Fund and Integrated Action Plan meant for backward area development.