Orissa Matters

JUDO PROJECT JEERED IN HOUSE: SPEAKER AMENDS HIS STEP

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Speaker Mahaeswar Mohanty amended his earlier stand today and assured the House that the security staff trained in Judo would not be used against Opposition members.

The pre-intermission part of the current session had ended with the Speaker saying that the security staff of the Assembly would be given Judo training to keep under control the violent members.

Editorialisation of this information in this website, carried by the print media, had its impact.

Members of even the treasury benches were in severe disagreement with the judo project. Pradip Maharathy warned the Speaker that he will initiate steps to censor him if members are subjected to discipline by judo. Arun De asked, What will happen if Opposition members get training in judo to face the security staff?

You are acting as custodian of the government. But you ought to act as the custodian of the House. Thus said Umesh Ch Swain addressing the Speaker.

Reacting to the criticism the Speaker clarified that he had not said specifically that the security staff would be trained in judo to control the Opposition members. Rather the purpose was to ensure peaceful transaction of business of the House.

What does it mean? Roared members cutting across partylines.

Deputy Leader of Opposition Narasingh Mishra reminded the Speaker of the legal powers that he can use to control the House. But he would be doing a disservice to democracy if security staff is given the power to keep members under control. This is giving a wrong message to the people.

He asked the Speaker to specifically declare that the trained personnel will not be used against the Opposition under any circumstances.

The Speaker accordingly declared.

DARK DAYS AHEAD!

POWER FAMINE WOULD ENGULF ORISSA BEFORE END OF THIS DECADE

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The preening prince of Bijudom, like his boastful father, is pushing Orissa into a dark horizon and if no remedial steps are taken, the State shall plunge into an endless power famine before end of this decade.

I do not know if Naveen Patnaik has the ability to understand what is happening to Orissa. No Chief Minister of Orissa was ever so afraid of the people. He is on records to have confessed this in the Assembly during his reply to the motion on Kalinga Nagar massacre when he said that he can visit that blood-strained soil only after normalcy is restored. I do not know if he understands that the abnormality he is so afraid of is his own creation. It is created by his pledging Orissa to the 54 mega industrial projects under implementation support. These projects are preconditioned to reduction of the status of our people from independent farmers to that of dependent laborers. The illiterate tribals who have been braving bullets at Kalinga Nagar have understood this. The marginal farmers who have been opposing POSCO in the coastal belt of Jagatsingpur have understood this. The uneducated masses of men and women in interior Orissa have understood this. Lady protege of Biju Patnaik, Tulsi Munda, who has a tribal tongue, not only has understood this, but also has told of this to Naveen Patnaik in no uncertain terms. If he could not understand her version, because she told this in Oriya, then the words of the illustrious and apolitical mouthpiece of displaced people of the country, Medha Patkar, who told in Hindi and English that the autonomous social groups of self-employed farmers should not be forced by the State to seek survival as slaves under private industries, were not difficult to understand. But Naveen Patnaik has failed to understand this. He has failed to understand the single most important fact that he and his cronies cannot be more patriot than others; cannot be the only seekers of Orissa prosperity juxtaposed to others. The 54 barons of private industries are all outsiders, who, by birth do not belong to Orissa. Shareholders of these industries do not belong to Orissa. The persons, who will fetch the profits of these industries, do not belong to Orissa. But for them Naveen Patnaik is denuding the people of Orissa of their ancestral and traditional sources of livelihood. Therefore, I am not sure, if he has the ability to understand what ails Orissa.

Against this backdrop, let us proceed to see why I venture the apprehension of power famine. I will place facts from official records to the best of my ability without compromising my professional commitment.

Present position

Orissa at present is endowed with an installed generating capacity of 3520 MW with all generation available from Hydro and Thermal Units in State Sector as well as Orissa share from Hydro and Thermal Units of the Central Sector from which Firm Power Availability is of the order of 1827 MW with an annual energy flow of 16000 MU to the State Grid. It is observed from the System Performance Report of January 2006 prepared by State Load Despatch Centre (SLDC) that the Orissa system has witnessed the peak demand of 2408 MW and an average demand of 1757 MW during January 2006, leaving a surplus of about 70 MW only.

Future pressure

But the scenario shall soon change.

The National Rural Electrification Policies (NREP) circulated by Government of India during December, 2005 envisaged that 100% households in all 46000 villages in the State of Orissa are to be effected with power supply by 2009. After detailed exercise, the four Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) have projected the following additional requirement on account of NREP agency wise: (All in MW) SESCO: 549, WESCO: 495, SOUTHCO: 225, NESCO: 360, totaling 1629 MWs.

This shows that the additional demand on account of NREP is 1629 MW. Considering the present T&D loss of 40% and at 80% availability, the installed generating capacity required to cater to this additional demand of NREP will be of the order of 3394 MW which is to be added to the Orissa Power System by 2009.

Industrial impact

As per Press Release of IPICOL dated 26.01.2006, as many as 44 Companies have signed MoU with Govt. of Orissa to set up Steel Projects and 3 Companies have signed MoU to set up Allumina Projects in the State. The year wise power requirement for the above industries which have signed MoU with Govt. of Orissa is indicated to be 243 MW in 2006-07, 301 MW in 2007-08, 336 MW in 2008-09, 336 MW in 2009-10 totaling 1216 MW for the industries already committed by GRIDC/OPTCL; 286 MW in 2006-07, 413 MW in 2007-08, 510 MW in 2008-09, 630 MW in 2009-10 and 703 MW in 2010-11 for the industries that have already applied for power to GRIDCO/OPCTL, which is under their active consideration. Over and above this, by 2010-11, an additional requirement of 633 MW is also indicated for industries already bound by MoU pending application to GRIDCO/OPTCL.

Thus the additional demand on account of the aforesaid up coming industries is about 4391 MW. Considering the Transmission Loss of 4% in EHT system and 80% availability, the installed capacity required to cater to the aforesaid additional demand of the industries will be about 5717 MW which is to be added to Orissa Power System by 2010-11.

The above scenario makes it clear that the additional installed capacity on account of NREP and that of industries to be added to the Orissa Power System will be about 9000 MW by 2010-11 in order to fully cater to the demand of the upcoming industries in the State as well as to effect power supply to 100% households as projected by DISCOMs in the State under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidhyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY). From the above analysis, it is revealed that from the year 2006-07 onwards even with normal monsoon and full hydro availability, the State will face deficit in power supply unless additional capacity is added to meet the demand.

But the requirement will not rest with this. As the G.D.P. is poised for a 8% growth, the power demand of the State will ask for expansion at par with that from the pavement of the already envisaged additional need of 9000MW as discussed above.

Is Naveen Patnaik’s government ready for this? No. Not at all.

I do not find any instance in history to compare with the nonchalance maintained by Naveen in such a situation. On the one hand, he has been pledging the State to mega industrial projects in the private sector with assurance of power supply but on the other hand, he has been paying a deaf ear to techno-judicial advice for enhancement of power generation.

As I watch a communication from the Chairman of Orissa Elecricity Regulatory Commission, dated 20 May 2005, bearing D.O.No. 812, which he had preferred to the State Government invoking his authority under Section 86(2)(iv) of Electricity Act,2003, I see to what extent this government is recalcitrant.

The OERC, in this D.O. served on the energy secretary, has cautioned the government that unless urgent steps are taken to create additional generation capacity to meet the demand, the State will face deficit in power supply from 2007-08 onwards even in the condition of good monsoon and full hydro availability.

This warning of OERC has gone unheeded to.

Ever since Naveen Patnaik has taken over reigns of the State, not a single MW in generation capacity has been added to Orissa Power System.

Vision 2010 derailed

By the time Naveen took over, Government of Orissa had addressed itself to preparation of Vision 2010 document for power based on the Fuel Map of India prepared by Central Electricity Authority. It materialized in 2001. In this document, target was fixed for generation of 7880 MW in 6 new Thermal projects and 738 MW through 6 new Hydel projects in addition to existing facilities.

In the Thermal sector, 3960 MW generation was tagged to Stage-1 of Hirma Power Project with emphasis on completion of the project between 2002 and 2007. Similarly AES was to complete Unit 5 & 6 of IB Valley within the same period and generate 500MW at the rate of 250 MW each; OPGC , 420 MW by completing Unit 3&4; KPCL, 500MW at Duburi; the Project at Naraj, 500MW in two units at the rate of 250 MW and NTPC, 1000 MW at Kaniha. All these projects were to be completed by 2007 beginning test generation in 2002. Another project for generation of further 1000 MW at Kaniha was to be completed between 2007 and 2012. Orissa is most suitable for Thermal Power generation with about 46,000 Million Tonnes of Power Grade Coal awaiting utilization in two coal fields located in Talcher and Ib Valley areas. This excellent deposit of coal can sustain Thermal generation of 1,00,000 MW for a period of 100 years. But despite such supporting resources, and notwithstanding the targets under Vision 2010, Naveen Patnaik’s Government has not added a single MW generation capacity to what the earlier governments had built up even though his ultra enthusiast allying with industry has threatened to eat away entirely whatever power is being generated at present.

Analyzing the scenario Energy Experts and Power Specialists portend frequent power cut from 2007 and severe power famine in Orissa from 2009.

Dark days ahead! Please take note of it.

AIIMS & NISc BEYOND REACH: VAJPAYEE’S FRAUD STILL HUNTS ORISSA

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Mr. Atal Behari Vajapayee knows who had advised him to use the post of Prime Minister that he was then holding to play a joke with the people of Orissa in the guise of founding a branch of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhubaneswar. He and his cronies belong to a store house of ideas to hoodwink the common man for catching votes. And, this was the reason of why we had uttered doubts on the implementation of the project by Vajpayee. We had unambiguously identified it as a pre-poll stunt played with the sole intension to cheat the voters. That happened.

There was no earlier proposal to branch out AIIMS in keeping Orissa in mind. No application of mind at all in the matter at the level either of central bureaucracy or of the central cabinet or in the parliamentary forum. There was no budgetary provision; no contemplation in plan papers. The idea had come from no responsible administrative channel of the central government. It had neither emanated from any in the AIIMS management. It was an impromptu decision taken at Vajpayee�s private chamber and pronounced by his official avatar.

People of Orissa were to a larger extent swayed away by this mischief. It was not unusual. Vajpayee, while laying the foundation stone of AIIMS at Bhubaneswar had used the best of his oral acrobatics to convince people that the institute is a reality that he was gifting to Orissa in way of fulfilling his government�s commitment to physical wellbeing of the common man. His party, which otherwise would have continued to experience the aversion of the traditionally secular Oriyas, had improved in the proximate election. Vajpayee�s fraud was clear as the post-election central budget did not pay attention to working of the AIIMS branch at Bhubaneswar. And the scenario has not changed.

But a change is being marked in the circle of Vajpayee�s sycophants. They have started aggressively beating at the bushes. They have started pointing out accusing fingers at the central government for not having made any budgetary provision for the AIIMS at Bhubaneswar. It is really amusing. The villain is trying to divert public attention from the fraud it had played on the people of Orissa.

In the matter of National Institute of Science the same trend is also marked. An international seminar on science education held in 1996 under auspices of UNESCO had stressed on building up of institutes of sciences of international standard with emphasis on their balance distribution within respective geographical limits of the participating countries. India being a signatory to this resolution, in normal course of administration, decided to establish four National Institutes of Sciences in four parts of the country including one at Bhubaneswar in Orissa. Records show that there was stiff objection to put one of the said NIScs at Bhubaneswar. The Bengali lobby, as is its wont, had whipped up this controversy. But the UGC had rejected the Bengali pressure and declared that when expansion of such institutes would be taken up in course of time, the demand for one at Kolkata might be considered. Thereafter, Vajpayee�s government slept over the proposal. Who does not know that Vajpayee�s inner court yard was murmuring under foot-steps of a Bengali known as his son-in-law? Who does not know how Mamata Banerjee, who leads a regional party of Bengal, was close to Vajpayee? Should one do a mistake by drawing an inference that the NISc proposed by the UGC for Bhubaneswar was willfully sloughed over by Vajpayee government as the UGC rejected the Bengali lobby for change of location of the eastern institute from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata?

This website has actively and elaborately dealt with the subject besides having pioneered protests of the Oriya nation against the subterfuge engineered by the regional chauvinist section of the Bengalis under obliging collaboration from Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh. It has also given a link to http://iiser.blogspot.com/ for wider appreciation of the issue.

But as is being increasingly marked, the sycophants of Vajpayee have started concentrating on use of internet as well as the print media to transmit a message that Vajpayee had given a great gift to Orissa in the form of NISc at Bhubaneswar but his successor has shanghaied it away to Kolkata.

So the comfortably placed people have started playing their class cards in the guise of NISc in a style that would please Vajpayee and suit the very same persons who, after the UGC rejected the Bengali claim and stood with its decision to set up NISc at Bhubaneswar, had made both the Vajpayee led Central government as well as his party run Orissa administration sleep over the project, till finally, by misuse of Prime-Ministerial position, Man Mohan Singh derailed the UGC decision.

Association of a section of superannuated bureaucrats with soiled past but shrewd eyes on future political horizon as well as some hobnobbers in academic compounds with RSS background with the comparison-campaign on who gave the gift and who played the thief amongst the two � the past and the present PM � is a clear indication to how the Vajpayee factor is initiating a new game of fraud against people of Orissa under the guise of NISc/IISER.

Premium put on Arun Jetley to take up Orissa case in the Supreme Court after it vacated the injunction imposed by Orissa High Court on establishment of IISER elsewhere before Orissa�s claim is settled cannot be seen as an innocent act propelled only by love for Orissa. Who is Arun Jetley? Was he not in the cabinet of Vajpayee which had deliberately slept over the UGC decision to set up NISc in Orissa, after the Bengali claim was turned down? Is he not the leader of BJP to which belong the two Ministers of Orissa, Higher Education Minister Samir De and Law Minister Biswa Bhusan Harichandan who did not prefer a caveat before the Supreme Court paving thereby the way to success of unilateral pleadings of the Central Government for vacation of the stay imposed by Orissa High Court?

What is then the game plan?

I am afraid, in both the matters of AIIMS and NISc/IISER, Oriya sentiment is being shrewdly used to resurrect the forfeited credibility of Vajpayee by a section of highly educated persons of Orissa, scattered all over the world.

They are playing this game taking advantage of Man Mohan Singh�s image emerging as that of a man who can go to any low, even to the extent of allowing American President�s canine squad commanding respect from our commanders!

When in public perception we have a Prime Minister who could brake protocols to welcome an American President whose sense of proportion was so pathetically overshadowed by blind pride that he could not thought of how his hosts would be embarrassed by desecration of the best of the Tirthas of modern India, the revered Rajghat, tomb of the beloved Father of Indian Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, by his dogs, at who the people of Orissa should look for remedy if frauds of the past PM hunts the State?

DEMOCRACY IN DILEMMA

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

ETHICS GIVER GIVES AWAY ASSEMBLY LAPTOP VIOLATING ETHICALITY IN ENTIRITY

Senior colleague of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Dr. Ramesh Chandra Chyau Pattanayak who heads the House Committee that has framed the Code of Ethics for the Assembly members has clandestinely given away the Laptop Computer he had received from the Assembly for legislative utilization to a Canadian whom he claims to be his personal friend.

This he revealed to participants in an event of Academy of Technocrats at Berhampur on February 26, 2006 in presence of the Minister of Water Resources Mr. Rabinarayan Nanda and the Vice-Chancellor of Berhampur University Dr. J.K.Baral according to reports in a section of mainstream media. We are satisfied that after so many months of the apprehension we had expressed about the fate of these instruments, some members of the media world have reported to public that their exchequer has been misused by providing the MLAs with Laptop computers.

This site was the sole media so far to have exposed the illegality of giving Laptop Computers to MLAs. The amenities available to MLAs are spelt out in specific Laws that we had mentioned on May 09, 2005. Supply of Laptop Computers to MLAs sans any stipulation as regards status thereof during and after tenure of the member concerned is pure illegality. Whether or not any payola has any role in procurement of the laptop computers and issuance thereof to the members notwithstanding their lack of education, training or knowledge in operating the highly sophisticated gadgets was an offshoot of the payola design is a matter the ongoing commission of judicial enquiry, if considered prudent, may find out. But Patnaik’s confession has made it unambiguously clear that our solitary reading of the illegality and undesirability of supply of Laptop Computers to members of the Assembly was absolutely correct. Ultra-vires of Laws, the illicit, unsolicited and uncalled for gift to undeserving members has played havoc with the exchequer of the State. In the report under reference we had given glimpses of misutilisation of the machines by members in extra-legislative terrains. Now the clandestine disposal of the Laptop by none other than the President of the Ethics Committee of the House has exposed to what extent the fashion of making members technology suave can make a farce of legislative privileges.

If payola had played a part in procurement of Laptop Computers that part should end with promulgation of a ban on any further procurement.

The Speaker who could impose cash penalty of Rs.30,000.00 each on three members of the Congress party for damage of three amplifiers in their hands should give evidence of his sincerity by asking Sri Chyau Patnaik to refund the value of the Laptop he has gifted away to a foreigner when the same was supplied to him for use in legislative work.

To make the system work properly, and in order to stop bribing members with such types of costly gadgets with intension to build up a cover to hide misgovernance from public gaze, the Parliamentary affairs department of the State Government should immediately bring out a new Law regulating the supply, maintenance and recovery of Laptop Computers to MLAs with retrospective effect.

There should be no doubt in it that any provision of gadgets to the members, if not co-terminus with their tenure, is a bribe given for procurement of their support, express or tacit, to all the illegal, immoral and corrupt activities of the persons in power.

MLAs, irrespective of party affiliation, should seriously think of this.

ORISSA HIGH COURT SHOULD LOOK AT ITS ORDER AFRESH

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

If one looks at what happened in Orissa Legislative Assembly in the matter of amendment of the Orissa Co-operative Societies Act, 1962, he or she would wish that Orissa High Court should look afresh into its order that has rendered the Act rudderless, unable the minister as is to say that the Bill passed in the House would surely work.

The Minister, Co-operation and Member-in-charge, Ms. Surama Padhi told the House that she would never have brought the Bill had the High Court not made the process of election held up. Because of an interim order of the High Court the Registrar of Co-operative Societies is unable to complete the election in remaining co-operative societies within the statutory period, she said. From her statement it transpired that she is sincerely eager to see that the Registrar completes the elections to the rest of the societies. But this is impossible as long as the High Court has not modified or vacated its order prohibiting elections. In hope of such a step from the High Court she has been amending the Societies act from time to time; but the court is neither ending the dispute nor allowing the elections to take place.

According to the Minister, elections in 5933 out of 7808 co-operative societies and 60 out of the 146 functional central co-operative societies in the State have been held completely as per the reservation policy which existed prior to the commencement of the Orissa Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act,2004. Elections in the remaining primary, central and apex co-operative societies were required to be held as per the amended provisions of the 2004 amended Act which should have taken about six months. But the said amendment was challenged before the High Court in WP © No.9514/2005. The corresponding amended Rules were also challenged before the same High Court in WP© No. 10301/2005 in which the High Court passed an interim order on 31 Aug.2005 prohibiting issuance of notification for the elections till final orders of the court pronounced or the interim order modified or vacated. Under such compelling circumstances there is no other way than amending the Act time and again to meet the requirement of the original Act to complete elections within stipulated time.

In course of debates, members of excellent experience have expressed opinion that the amendment would serve no purpose if the election process remains cocooned in the case file limping in the High Court. This means, the Legislative Assembly makes a Law that it knows to be destined to die without being implemented! Ever since the High Court has intervened, what has happened? The assembly has passed repeated amendments only to witness deaths thereof sans any action.

I think the High Court should not remain oblivious of what happens in the Law making body in the State.

The election to co-operative societies is the only way for peoples participation in management of their economic affairs on basis of collective wisdom in the grass roots level. Therefore it has been made time-bound and the Registrar of co-operative societies has been ordained under the Law to complete the elections within a stipulated time frame.

The High Court should therefore do not do any such thing as to derail this process.

This does not mean that I argue that the High Court should not have intervened if the amendment of 2004 called for its intervention. But to me it occurs, in peculiar instances like this one, the hearing should be time bound and the judgments should be pronounced in time so that the time frame stipulated for constitution of the co-operative committees is not lost in the labyrinth of litigation.

No litigant should have any right or liberty to stall elections to co-operative bodies by bringing up a case before the High Court and once admitted, to resort to the tactics of time passing so that the purpose of co-operative Laws is lost.

It would be better if the High Court please reviews the case file and sees if the litigant has neglected his case.

In the Assembly, in course of debates, members have alleged that the Minister herself has filed the WPs through her personal cronies in order to exploit co-operative avenues for personal or party benefit.

Averse as supposedly she is to co-operative movement by political orientation, some of the public are also inclined to accept this theory.

If there is an iota of possibility of this in the matter, it is a very serious act of subterfuge.

The High Court should therefore see if willful dilatory tactics are used in the instant case or not and if yes, who, the litigant(s) or the Minister (by default for concerned officer), is responsible for the delay in finalization of this case.

As a senior citizen of this country, it would be a matter of reassurance to me on working of our Laws, if the High Court punishes the perpetrators of subterfuge, if any, for who repeated amendments of the co-operative act have gone in vain.

The WPs should either be allowed or rejected within such a time so that the Orissa Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act 2006 does not fall in the category of barren Laws. And, hence, I emphasize that the High Court should look at its order afresh.