BJP’s Sunrise in Odisha Is BJD losing ground in Odisha? Panchayat elections suggest this trend

Spotlight

March 7, 2017

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

The unprecedented electoral victory of BJP in Odisha’s local body elections has changed the political equation in the state. BJP has become the No 2, political force in Odisha, replacing the grand old party of the country, the Congress, which till recently was the main opposition party in the state. Not only this, for the first time after 17 years, it has posed a formidable challenge to Naveen Patnaik-led BJD party and its government. Naveen Patnaik, who is continuing in his fourth term as a Chief Minister, has never  faced such electoral debacle as he is witnessing today in just concluded three-tier panchayati raj elections. Though BJD has maintained its No. 1 status by winning maximum number of seats in zilla parishad, it has lost more than 180 seats in comparison 2012 panchayat elections. The trends of this election show that ruling BJD is slowly losing ground. Except its predominant position in coastal areas of the state, Naveen has suffered a severe setback in western Odisha districts and in south and north Odisha districts. While BJD has been able to form zilla parishads in 16 out of 30 districts (in 2012 it had formed zilla parishads in 28 districts), BJP has got majority in 8 districts ( earlier it had none) and Congress has won only one district (it had 2 in 2012) but has become single largest party in two other districts.

According to the latest figures– out of 849 (853) seats BJD has won  473 seats, BJP 297, INC 60 and others 16 including independents, CPI, CPI (M) and JMM. Results of four  seats are yet to be declared. During 2012 panchayat elections, of the 854 total zilla parishad seats barring 3 vacant seats, polling was held for 851 seats    of which BJD got 651 seats, INC candidates won in 128 seats and BJP had only 36 seats besides JMM 11, CPI 2, CPI (M) 1 and Independents in 22 seats.

This time pre-poll and post-poll violence took ugly turn with killing of politically opponents increased to more than five cases besides the regular incidents of house burning, group clash etc. In most of cases both BJP and Congress alleged the involvement of ruling BJD workers.

This time polling was conducted for 853 zilla parishad seats, 6801 seats in panchayat samitis, 6802 sarapanch seats, 92029 ward members. Of these elections for only zilla parishad seats were conducted on party symbols and all others were on independent basis. Fifty per cent seats have been reserved for women and on population basis posts are reserved for women, OBC, ST  and SC candidates. In 5th scheduled areas main posts are reserved for only ST candidates.

“We have never seen such violent clashes like this time and blatant use of money and muscle power”, said Panchanan Kanungo, former minister of state for finance and former BJD leader.

“Panchayat elections are increasingly becoming important for political parties and people are running shows at grassroots level because of varied reasons. One of the aspects is the elected representatives are becoming the main link between people and MLAs & MPs of the area. Secondly, more and more money is being pumped into rural areas through different state and central government schemes like MGNREGAs,” added Mr Kanungo.

For a party that was long-ridiculed as the ‘signboard party’ in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s congratulatory message at an election rally at Kannauj recently must have come as music to BJP leaders in the state. Had it not been the unexpected success of the party in the first two phases of the panchayat elections, Modi would perhaps never have thought of Odisha in the midst of an election rally in Uttar Pradesh.

Amidst all these, the rise of BJP in panchayat polls has delivered a severe blow to both BJD and Congress in the state. On the one hand, where BJP has encashed Odisha election success to influence voters in UP and celebrated Vijaya Divas across the state on February 25th only to galvanize the party rank and file for the bigger battle of 2019 assembly and general elections.  On the other hand, BJD has accused BJP of creating unnecessary hype of a small victory which has nothing to do with popular support enjoyed by Naveen Patnaik and BJD party. BJD-BJP bickering took ugly turn when on February 24, 2017 Prime Minister dubbed Odisha   a state of poverty, unemployment, starvation deaths in his election rally in UP and Dharmendra Pradhan accused Odisha Government of non-functioning, being anti-people and of  its all round failure through conducting a press conference in National Capital, New Delhi along with Union Cabinet Minister Jual Oram and State Party Prabhari Aruna Singh.  BJD was quick in responding to the allegations of BJP. A media conference conducted at party headquarters in Bhubaneswar addressed by two junior ministers Sanjay Das Burma and Arun Sahu along with Member of Parliament Pinaki Mishra turned down BJP’s allegations and claimed BJD is still number one, people of the state have reposed their faith in Naveen Patnaik’s leadership and BJD party. “If seeing this small victory, BJP is dreaming to form the government in the state in 2019, it will be kind of day dream,” said Das Burma.

BJP, which had been alliance partner of BJD for nine years from 2000 to 2009,  was desperately trying to make its presence felt in all the districts organisationally after Naveen snapped its tie unilaterally just days before 2009 elections citing and blaming its alliance partner BJP for Kandhamal communal violence. Since then both parties were in loggerheads and BJP was after Naveen’s head continuously highlighting Naveen’s failure on different fronts. BJP got boost  when NDA came to power under Narendra Modi’s leadership in 2014 with absolute majority. Though, BJP was going soft with Naveen on the run up to 2014 elections and even after that, but 2016 was the turning point for the party when Prime Minister visited the state three times within a year and party president Amit Shah twice in two years. Besides these, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan’s frequent visits to state boosted the party workers morale and revived its lost ground. Apart from these, despite winning a single parliamentary seat of Sundargarh out of 21, during the 2014 general elections, Modi inducted Jual Oram as Union Cabinet Minister for Tribal Affairs and Dharmendra Pradhan as Minister of State with Independent Charge even though he was not elected from Odisha. Dharmendra Pradhan is the Rajya Sabha Member from Bihar.

The much-hyped Amit Shah’s  Odisha visit in 2015 had proved a damp squib following his non-utterance of a single word against Naveen Patnaik,  though party’s rank and file were all against Naveen’s alleged misrule and his involvement in chit fund scam. However, his second visit to the state on November 25  last year had energised party workers, where he had called party workers to overthrow this corrupt regime.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has acknowledged and raised Odisha local polls victory at two public meetings in Kanauj and Gonda during Uttar Pradesh election campaign to woo voters. Though his Kanauj meeting speech was to thank rural voters of Odisha, his Gonda speech of 24th  February created a fresh controversy following his description of poverty and starvation deaths. Prime Minister in his speech said, “You will find India’s poorest and poverty stricken districts in Odisha. The state is known for unemployment, poverty and starvation deaths, but now Odisha’s poor people are with BJP, as they have reposed their  faith in us.”

Modi’s statement received strong reaction from the state. Both BJD and Congress reacted sharply within assembly and outside and said Modi must apologize for this statement,  which has offended the state and its people. Even BJD legislators staged a dharana under Mahatma Gandhi’s  statue. BJP, on the other hand, has supported Modi’s statement and questioned — Is it not the reality that children are dying due to malnutrition in Nagada village and Japanese encephalitis in Malkangiri? Has Dana Majhi not carried his wife’s dead body as hospital in Kalahandi denied ambulance to him? Is it not a shame for the state, when its Chief Minister after having ruled the state for 17 long years is not able to speak state’s official language?

BJP’s victory is being attributed to the frequent visits of Dharmendra Pradhan to the state and support to Modi’s demonetisation drive, besides failure of BJD government on many fronts.

While speaking to this correspondent,  Sajjan Sharma, chief spokesperson of BJP ruled it out as small victory. “It is the outcome of our two and half year’s continuous campaign in popularising and taking it to people Narendra Modi government’s pro-people policies and schemes and exposing the unjust, crippled, immature and non-functioning Naveen Patnaik government in the state,”  said Sharma. He further added Congress had already lost before the election process started. People reposed their faith in us.

BJD, on the other hand has claimed its vote percentage is intact. It had polled 42 per cent votes in last elections and won 60 per cent of seats. Congress which had polled 29 per cent votes lost at least 15 per cent to BJP, argued a BJD leader.

Speaking to Uday India, BJD vice-president Surya Narayan Patra said because of transfer of votes from Congress’ traditional base to BJP candidates BJP’s seats has increased and so is the percentage of vote share from 29 per cent to more than 35 per cent.

To a question on BJD losing ground  Patra said that BJP was in second position in Sambalpur, Bolangir, Bargarh, Kalahandi, Malkangiri and Mayurbhanj and the winning margin was very less in last general elections and much before that during 2009 these districts were Congress parties traditional bastion. BJD had won only in last elections. So there is no reason for celebration for BJP.

“Neither Naveen Patnaik’s image dented nor Narendra Mod’s image appreciated. This is a temporary setback and we will be able to revive our organisation within course of time. So there is nothing to worry,” added Patra.

When asked whether Congress leaders conceded the defeat by blaming it to the indecisiveness of high command and incapable state leadership. “Due to weak organization, ever deepening factionalism and shortage of money, we have suffered a

severe debacle,” said Ganeswar Behera, former minister and a senior Congress leader.  “We could have revived the organisation and our lost fortune,  if the high command had taken a right decision in right time and learnt lessons from past mistakes,” added Behera.

According to political observers this election was a litmus test for the ruling BJD in the run up to 2019 general elections for both the state assembly and Parliament. It was treated as the semifinal as more than 2.6 crore voters out of 3 crorers were participating in the elections.

 The alleged involvement of Chief Minister’s office in multi-thousand crore chit fund scam, involvement of BJD MPs, MLAs, leaders and bureaucrats at top level where at least two million people have been duped to the tunes of thousand crores, Shah Commission’s inquiry into the multimillion crores mining scam, government land grabbing by rich and people, multi crore dal scam, suicide of farmers, increasing atrocities aganist women, killing of innocent tribals in the name of Maoists, large scale corruption in distribution of ration cards, alleged molestation of women in the name of Chief Minister’s security, alleged sexual escapade of Bhubaneswar mayor and  all-round failure of the government in controlling law and order in the state etc. are some of issues that went against BJD’s poll prospects, says political observers.

Naveen, who had survived during last 17 years’ elections after elections,  got a body blow this time and Congress lost its traditional and predominant voter base of KBK and tribal districts in which 50 per cent seats have gone to BJP.

Interestingly, this time BJD had engaged a galaxy of leading artists from Odia film industry to woo voters; they had fanned across the state. “They had succeeded to pull crowds rather than votes,” said Sabar Tarai, a scribe with a vernacular daily, based in Ganjam district. Naveen Patnaik’s absence in electioneering also helped the opposition especially BJP to spearhead its campaign strategy. BJP, which still was maintaining guarded silence on Naveen’s misdeeds up to 2015, geared up its anti-Naveen rants after Bihar, West Bengal and Assam elections when both Modi and Amit Shah felt Odisha should be next state after Assam to realise its presence in eastern India. That is ostensibly the reason both Amit Shah and Modi paid frequent visits to the state.

Another aspect of BJP’s victory could be the Naveen’s dilly-dallying attitude and indecisiveness towards the Centre, said a political observer. On the one hand,  Naveen Patnaik is blaming everything on Centre and raising the slogan of central negligence, on the other, he supported demonetization and remained silent on many national issues.  Both Congress and BJP are still critical of Naveen’s handling of Mahanadi issue. When the state government has nothing to hide, why it remained silent on repeated reminders of the Centre and Central Water Commission, alleged BJP. Even Naveen could not respond to the statement of Chhattisgarh CM when he was blaming here to the failure of Odisha government during electioneering, asked an activist working on water rights in Mahandi basin.

by Sudarshan Chhotoray

from Bhubaneswar

http://udayindia.in/2017/03/07/bjps-sunrise-in-odisha-is-bjd-losing-ground-in-odisha-panchayat-elections-suggest-this-trend/

PHAILIN WRATH RAVAGES ODISHA

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PHAILIN WRATH RAVAGES ODISHA

BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

On the fateful night of October 12, 2013, at around 9.05 PM, when wind slowed down, the panic-stricken people rejoiced and came to celebrate on the streets of villages and towns in Ganjam district of coastal Odisha to bid farewell to cyclonic storm Phailin, as if it felled on ground and went back in Gopalpur-on-Sea. But to their grave dismay and utter surprise the catastrophic cyclonic storm revisited within no minutes with a devastating wind speed of 220 kmph and sea surge of 25ft in Gopalpur, the epicenter of shaping storm. And within minutes, it engulfed not only the 85 square kilometers of its size but also severely affected at least seven adjoining districts–Gajapati, Kandhamal, Puri, Khurdha, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara in Odisha and Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh (AP).

It was not like as it was predicted by Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) to fall on ground around 6pm but it took at least three more hours to ignite the speed and force it had. According to unconfirmed reports, it actually fell around 8 pm on ground somewhere in the coast of Srikakulam in AP though the eye of the storm was Gopalpur-on-Sea. But after seeing the wind speed, gravity and nature of the storm, which moved quickly to inland at Gopalpur and all along the coast of Odisha after 9 pm, it has been said that the monster storm had landfall in Gopalpur. When it dissipated after a couple of hours, it had catastrophic effect–affecting millions of people and households, uprooting trees and plants, damaging houses and buildings, flowing of roofs, water pouring inside trembling rooms, killing people in wall collapse, blocking roads and above all it has caused extensive damage to power transmission and distribution infrastructure of 14 districts. Half of the state is under darkness. The bumper harvests of paddy, cereals, maize and cotton have been washed away in at least 17 districts. Cyclone and subsequent floods have destroyed crops in more than seven lakh hectares.

Within two days of the killer cyclone, torrential rains and overflowing rivers triggered floods which affected few more districts namely Balesore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Jajpur besides the Phailin-devastated Ganjam, Nayagarh and Kendrapara.

Though the state government has stepped up relief and restoration work in the affected districts, the damage caused is huge. It can reach up to more than Rs 20,000 crore. For restoring power infrastructure, which has to start from the scratch, needs Rs 900 crore. “Leave aside the loss in crop damage, people need to settle in their homes and restore their lost livelihoods like fishermen, salt labourers, daily wage earners and rural artisans,” said Mangaraj Panda of United Artists Association, Ganjam.

According to preliminary assessment by the state government, in Ganjam alone 2, 30,000 houses either collapsed or damaged out of 3, 76,608 houses damaged in the state. Standing crop in 2, 16,100 hectares have been lost. The reported cases of human causality are 13. More than 15 lakh people spread over 22 blocks have been affected by Phailin in the district.

In the state twin calamities have affected 1.2 crore people and have claimed lives of more than 39 people, out of whom 21 were killed by killer cyclonic storm. Both cyclone and subsequent floods have engulfed 16,487 villages spread over 2009 gram panchayats of 148 blocks and 43 urban local bodies including Berhampur Municipal Corporation, which is one of the severely affected towns of the state. Even the state capital city Bhubaneswar was severely hit by Phailin storm. It took three days to restore power and water supply channels in the city and people in many slum locations of the city are still sheltering in temporary houses.

Meanwhile, state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh seeking an assistance of Rs. 1000 crore from Union government. The CM has added, a details and comprehensive report will be sent after the final assessment and estimation of loss. Both the state and Union governments have declared the exgratia payment of Rs. 4 lakh and 2 lakh respectively each for the deceased of the Phailin victims.

Irregularities in relief operation

Despite best efforts of both government and non-government agencies, there seems to be large-scale irregularities in relief work. Opposition parties have alleged that it has been a BJD affair. “BJD corporators, Sarapanchs and leaders have forcibly taken relief materials to their area thereby forcing the officials to sanction relief to them,” said a BJP leader. Congress has alleged that the BJD government is not following Odisha Relief Code. “It believed more on promises than following rules,” said state PCC President Jayadev Jena. State government has made a hype of both the Phailin threat and relief and rescue work. “CM Naveen Patnaik and his lieutenants are only propagating the arrangements and announcements rather than reaching out to the people,” said a senior Congress leader. Still thousands of villages are cut off, many are struggling to live on pittance. “The relief is nowhere to be seen, we have got only 3kg of rice, 2kg of chuvda after three days. How can we live/manage our family on this?” asked Khali Sahu of Palur village in Ganjam.

State government has declared 14 days relief for the people of severely-affected areas, which includes 50 kg of rice and Rs 500 for dal and seven days for partly affected, which includes 25kg rice and Rs 300 for dal. But still thousands are languishing in water-logged and isolated areas. In many places, tahasildars and BDOs have expressed their inability to arrange funds for the stranded people. Since the government has not made advance payments for relief operation, it has to be diverted from the other funds. How can it be possible to disburse cash to people in the chaotic situation? asked a district official. The situation of people living along coastline is more precarious. For nearly four days people of the much-talked about Podampeta village in Ganjam have not been visited by any government official or no relief reached to them. Just before Phailin, government officials and politician made this village as pilgrimage for a complete week but after Phailin nobody worried for them as water engrossed the village from all fronts. “Where are these people?” asked Ch Tateya of the village.

Unsolved questions over rescue operation

The rescue operation is being treated as the largest ever in the world and single best especially in Indian subcontinent if we consider the words of Odisha Special Relief Commissioner Pradipta Mahapatra and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Vice-Chairperson Shashidhar Reddy. According to them, in 1990 cyclone, which confronted coastal AP, nearly 6 lakh people were evacuated but for Phailin more than 7 lakh people have been evacuated or shifted to safer places just before hours of landfall. Many were settled in cyclone shelters within reach of 5km of seashore or others were deported to nearby schools and government buildings. But opposition parties and NGOs flayed this saying, seeing the possible intensification of the storm 12 hours before the landfall on the fateful day and on October 11, many villagers left their villages on their own, government had only shifted few coastal villagers to cyclone centres. “We had shifted women and children of our village to our relatives to nearby hilly villages on our own, no government officials helped us in this regard”, said Kamaraj Chhatai of Niladripur village. Niladripur village under Ganjam Block of Ganjam district is a habitation of 220 families, which is situated just 1km from the seashore but there is no cyclone shelter in the village.

Contrary to this, many agencies and experts including UN have praised the Odisha government for minimising the causalities by evacuating people from the calamity zone. Since the very beginning, the state government had adopted the approach of zero causalities, even order were given to officials to forcibly evacuate the unrelenting people.

People in coastal districts of Odisha were very much scared to watch description of possible and likely intensification and gravity of cyclonic storm Phailin in TV channels and newspapers but to their utter surprise TV channels went off 12 hours before the landfall. They only depended on radio and mobile phones that again went off after landfall as mobile towers and radio transmission towers got twisted in wind speed.

The fear and panic spread on October 8, when TV channels and newspapers flashed the story of ever intensified cyclonic storm named Phailin coming across to Odisha and AP coast with a lightning speed of 18 kmph. The storm was caused by deep depression formed over the North Andaman Sea in the Bay of Bengal centered on 1350 km off the south-east of Paradeep Port and was intensifying towards Gopalpur. This information and news analysis and subsequent predictions of leading meteorological scientists world over and analysis of USA Navy further worsened the situation of panic-stricken people. Many fled from coastal villages with their families. People got more scared when government started preparing for the worst by deploying Army, Air Force, NDRF, ODRAF contingents.

Super Cyclone revisited after 14 years

The cyclonic storm was the great reminder of the Super Cyclone of October 29, 1999. People in the region, who had successfully resisted the fury of nature by rebuilding their lives, again fell trap to nature s fury. The recent Phailin that stroked nearly one third of Odisha has been compared with the Super Cyclone of 1999 that had crushed and lashed the same region of the state. But the epicenter of shaping storm was Earesema and Paradeep coast of Jagatsinghpur district where it had groundfall. The severe super cyclone with wind speed of 250 kmph and sea surge of more than 30ft had affected 15 lakh people and rendering millions homeless and penniless spread over 97 blocks in 14 districts across Odisha. Officially 9,885 people died but the figure was more than that, conservative estimates put it more than 25,000 people were killed by the Super Cyclone. 15 lakh houses were collapsed. Government had provided compensation of 75,000 per deceased. Odisha had asked the then Union government to declare it a national calamity but it was turned down by Central government. Out of Rs, 6000 crore sought for restoration and rehabilitation work only 828 crore were provided by the Centre.

With both the state and Centre are at loggerheads on a number of issues like conferring Special Category State status for Odisha, it has to be seen how the Centre responds to compensate Odisha for Phailin damages as both of them patted each other s back taking credit for ensuring minimising human causalities by rescuing people much before the storm s arrival. But still the priorities remain with the state government to speed up the restoration and rehabilitation work.

By Sudarshan Chhotoray from Gopalpur

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It is wrong for the government authorities to pat themselves over the successful evacuation of people from seaside and minimising loss of lives. The truth is that residents of the seaside villages had learnt from the 1999 super cyclone, and had moved away. Media hype and a bit of government support did help them. Gobinda Rao of Markundi said that the entire village had information about Phailin three days before it struck and the villagers had called a meeting and unanimously decided to take shelter in a concrete house of the village and not depend on the government. The relief work that had ensued is more geared towards propaganda and publicity than the actual needs of the situation. The callous approach of the officials in all relief related work has resulted in a lot of protests throughout the affected areas. The desperate people have unleashed their anger at the politicians, officials and police.

http://udayindia.in/2013/11/02/man-vs-nature/

Whose Resources Are These?

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Special Report

October 6, 2012

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

Under the euphoria of market driven reforms and export-dependent growth trajectory, there is a flood of investment proposals. Eighty-six MoUs signed by Odisha government. as on May 6, 2010, with a total amount of Rs 4, 41,471.14 crore—49 steel industries, 3 alumina Industry, 3 cement projects, 27 power projects, 2 auto ancillary projects, 1 titanium complex, 1 crude oil processing unit, 1 stainless steel industrial park. Besides investment has also been proposed on ports, universities, hospitals, and many a SEZ. Currently 2754 industries—large, medium and small scale—are operating in the state. Most of the industries (65 per cent) in the state being engaged in primary manufacturing activities fall within the red category.

In fact, some researchers refer to the present state of affairs as “deindustrialisation”, since “the recent spurt in new investment proposals in industries in the state in the 1990s is mostly in the private sector, including multinationals, that, too, in processing industries creating the problems of displacement and environmental pollution”. This seems to corroborate the finding of other research during the pre-globalisation period that the “pace of industrialisation has increased during 1981-91 as compared to 1971-81, due to both the increase in the correlation between agricultural production and industrial production from 0.38 to 0.63 and increase in the growth of agricultural production from 1.71 per cent to 3.49 per cent”.

MINES: Odisha contributes 98.4 per cent of chromite, 56 per cent of bauxite, 28.7 per cent graphite, 28.5 per cent manganese, 34 per cent iron, 24.8 per cent coal and 91 per cent nickel to the total mineral and coal reserves of India. In addition to this, Odisha is the largest reserve of seven major minerals in India. All the mineral-rich districts of the state feature in the list of 150 most backward districts of the country, says the report of CSE. “Statistics indicate that the income from mineral extraction rarely benefits the regions from where these minerals come—in fact, poverty is increasing in many of these districts,”

Between 1950 and 1991, mining displaced about 2.6 million people— not even 25 per cent of these displaced have been rehabilitated. For every 1 per cent that mining contributes to India’s GDP, it displaces 3-4 times more people than all the development projects put together.

Forest land diversion for mining has been going up. So has water use and air pollution in the mining hotspots.

Mining of major minerals generated about 1.84 billion tonnes of waste in 2006—most of which has not been disposed of properly.

Mining-isation of Industry: Mining in Odisha

Overall, during 1993-94 and 2003-04, the rate of mineral exploitation in Odisha has increased—on an average per year—by 10.3 per cent, while its value has gone up by 12.8 per cent. Export of minerals in quantity terms has gone up by 15.7 per cent, higher than the increase in exploitation rate, implying that a smaller percentage of the exploited minerals is used now to meet domestic needs. The value of exports has also increased. Despite all this, this capital-intensive sector has been ruthless on employment, reducing the number of workers by an average 4 per cent annually. During the period 1993-94 to 2001-02, for NSDP at constant (1993-94) prices, mining shows the highest average annual increase of 11.66 per cent, while agriculture and unregistered manufacturing exhibit decreases of more than 1 per cent per year.

The average annual rates of exploitation of the most important minerals, namely, iron ore, chromites, coal, and bauxite (as a percentage of reserves at the beginning of the year) is quite high, from 7.3 per cent for bauxite to 15.9 per cent for iron ore. If this growth rate in exploitation is maintained, the state’s existing iron ore and chromate reserves would get exhausted in 20 years and coal and bauxite reserves in 50 years! As per Indian Minerals Yearbook 2005, published by the Indian Bureau of Mines, Odisha is one of two states (other is Jharkhand) that had leased area per mine in 2003-04 in excess of 150 hectares. It is not just the resource exhaustion and environmental degradation, but also the paltry price at which minerals are doled out to corporations.

The employment generation by mining remains an across-the-board fall in the number of workers. The sole exception is the number of workers engaged in bauxite mining, which has gone up by around 6 per cent per year. But that is no solace, since bauxite accounts only for 1 per cent of the total mineral workers employed, whereas coal, iron ore, and chromate, the big employers in the mining sector, employ anywhere between 13 per cent and 35 per cent each of the total mineral workers. The fall in the number of workers per lakh tonne employed highlights the increasing mechanisations in this sector.

Coming to mines specifically, we find that, between 1993-94 and 2003-04, the number of workers employed by them fell across all districts except the industrial districts, (Baleshwar, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jagatsingpur, Khorda, Mayurbhanj, Sambalpur) which along with the non-industrial districts (Baudh, Debgarh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Kendrapara, Nayagarh, Puri) showed a higher average annual increase in output than did the mining districts.

As far as the value of output is concerned, the average annual increase of 57.49 per cent for non industrial districts, which is far higher than those for mining and industrial districts, points its finger towards a possible mining-isation.

Mining and Forest

Odisha accounts for 7 per cent of India’s forests. Topping the list of states, Odisha saw 5,151 hectare of forest land being diverted since January 2007. Since 1980 till date more than 34,000 hectares of forest land has been already diverted for different non-forestry purpose and only mining contributes to a tune of 14,000 hectares. The industry has a share of 2000 hectares of forest land.

In fact, if we look at forest area diverted for non-forest use, it went up from 789 hectares at the end of 1993-94 to 28,769 hectares at the end of 2003-04, an average annual increase at the rate of 43 per cent! Mining accounted for one third, irrigation one-fourth, transmission lines one-ninth, and industries one-twelfth of diversion of the 28,769 hectares. On the other hand, the state government is on the verge of dropping the plan for the proposed Baitarani Elephant Reserve even after clearance from the central environment and forest ministry, just because, once this mineral-rich area is classified as a reserve, mining would not be possible there.

According to figures released in early 2010 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Odisha has one of the highest rates of diversion of forest land. Of total forest land cleared for mining in India, Odisha accounts for 17 per cent. In fact, the state leads the nation in diversion of forest land for mining during the last three year.

Besides, out of the total land of 79,339 hectares allotted for mining leases as on December 31, 2005, more than 50 per cent is forest area. Fortunately, as per the Directorate of Mines, only a quarter of that forest had been officially allowed for diversion as of the end of 2005. The mining of iron ore accounts for the highest percentage of land allocated towards mining as of the end of 2005.

The reckless drive to sell off resources to corporate capital seems to be the onset of capitalism to denote, a) the use of state force to expropriate resources and facilitate accumulation of capital; b) the forcible incorporation of non-commodified resources in the capitalist economy, such as forest and wilderness, air in the form of carbon-trading, etc; c) the takeover of commons / public institutions/spaces /resources into private commodities.

The proposed investment in steel has been over Rs 1,98,149 crore for producing around 76 million tonnes per annum (MTPA); Power sector investments envisage producing just over 25,000 MW at an investment of around Rs 1 lakh crore. A Rs 3,812 crore investment in cement has been planned to produce roughly 5 MTPA. In aluminum, the proposed investment is almost Rs 30,000 crore for 3.0 to 4.0 MTPA. Besides, whereas around Rs 20,000 crore have been planned for creating a SEZ in 4,000-5,000 hectares, Rs 15,000 crore has been proposed for private universities. Even an auto park is being contemplated to be set up by Amtek, the leader in global automotive components, which also wants to set up a 2 MTPA steel plant and a 500 MW power plant.

All the planned power projects are, however, coal-based, save the one by Cala Casa of Spain, which has evinced interest in setting up a 20 MW multipurpose, generation-IV nuclear plant. In fact, the power plant proposed by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) would be the world’s biggest coal-based one. It seems that Odisha would indeed become the “powerhouse” of India, as was claimed by the Prime Minister and also Odisha’s Chief Minister.

The Odisha government is vigorously pushing the “education industry” and has even set up a higher education task force, which is “managed” by a private educational foundation! Since it has also become a fashion with corporations to hang the carrot of setting up a university or institute, it is not surprising that ADAG plans to set up a Dhirubhai Ambani University in Bhubaneswar to “boost IT education in the state” (Telegraph 2006). But the plan for the Vedanta University in the state is the most grandiose of all. It has been promised 6,000 acres of land, which would make it one of the largest campuses in the world. Even our premier institutions are not that land-rich: Hyderabad University has 2,300 acres, IIT Kharagpur 2,100, and JNU 1,000; even world-class Harvard and MIT in the US have just 150-400 acres. One, therefore, wonders whether the land for the Vedanta University would be diverted in the future towards a SEZ.

Similarly, Tata Steel’s proposed SEZ, focusing on metal manufacturing and ancillary development, is planned to be on 3,000 acres of land in Gopalpur, where it is in possession of 3,200 acres of land acquired by it earlier for a proposed steel plant. Those ousted by steel plants in Bhilai, Bokaro, and Rourkela cite cases of surplus land, earlier acquired for peanuts by the steel plant authority in these three cities, being sold off by the acquirer “at exorbitant prices to many public and private corporate sector bodies”. In fact, “insider trading” in land is carried out by the influential people before a region gets industrialised.

There are 13 new locations of ports, notified by the GOO. Despite the objections raised by Defence Research and Development Organisation for setting up three proposed ports in Odisha’s Balasore district (at Ichudi, Chandipur and Bahabalpur) as well as objections raised by Paradip Port Trust regarding the proposed port at Jatadhari Muhan by POSCO, GOO is hell bent on implementing the projects—being unmindful to the colossal damages that would befall on the people and the environment in terms of destruction of marine ecology, displacement and devastation of livelihood resources of coastal people, increasing salinity and water logging (consequent destruction of agriculture).

By Sudarshan Chhotoray From Bhubaneswar

http://udayindia.in/2012/10/06/whose-resources-are-these/

Will Congress Stage A Comeback In Odisha?

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State Scan

June 22, 2013

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

The appointment of Jayadev Jena as PCC (I) president replacing old warhorse Niranjan Patnaik of all powerful Patnaik family, has raised many eyebrows in Odisha Congress. Jena’s appointment came as a shocker and surprise for many in the state Congress when rejuvenated Congress was trying to fish in BJD’s troubled waters in the background of Congress’s win in Karnataka Assembly polls. Even though Niranjan Patnaik was not acceptable to many faction leaders and workers due to his family ties with former Chief Minister JB Patnaik and for the alleged involvement of the Patnaik family in mining activities, some how he was instrumental in galvanising state Congress by holding an impressive state rally and state-wide bandh.

AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi has ostensibly done it to pacify factionalism in State Congress and bring all groups under one platform before the state goes to polls in 2014. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi have done it to send a message that the Congress stands for Dalits and minorities, though Odisha has never voted on caste lines.

Being a Dalit face in State Congress and former state minister and present AICC secretary in-chage of UP, Jena was also PCC president for four-and-half-year in 2004-09. Just before 2009 elections, he was removed and replaced by former Union minister and Dhenkanal king KP Singhdeo. Many in the state feel that the manner in which Congress high command replacing state chiefs before elections is reducing chances of party’s electoral victory. The party did it before the elections in 2000, 2004, 2009 and 2014.

The appointment of Jena has been seen as Union Minister Srikant Jena’s desperate attempt to take over and ensure his grip over the state Congress, though Jena is still not acceptable as a Congressman as he has joined the party lately after the collapse of Janata Dal.

Meanwhile, the Union Minister has almost taken over reins of Odisha Congress in Delhi because of his proximity with many senior Congress leaders in Delhi.

He is the only minister in Central government from Odisha from among six MPs (including very senior Congress leaders like former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal and former Union Minister and now AICC spokesman Bhakta charan Das).

The factionalism in state Congress was visible on May 19, when Jena officially took over reins of State Congress in Congress Bhavan. The MPs, the MLAs and the workers owing allegiance to Patnaik family, all powerful youth leader Lulu Mahapatra and other senior leaders, including a dozen state MLAs did not attend the felicitation ceremony of Jayadev Jena.

Interestingly, a controversy has erupted following the statement of Jayadev Jena on his day of felicitation. Jena had said, “He was removed from PCC chief post just before 2009 elections at the instance of the conspiracy of Naveen Patnaik, because he was instrumental in Congress’s victory in two successive by-elections and Zilla Parishad polls”. This statement did not go well with his detractors, they have raised this issue alleging if Naveen decides everything in state Congress then what is the need of high command.

Karnataka shocker for Odisha

Meanwhile, Karnataka shocker has not only thwarted BJP’s future prospects, it also has sent shock waves to other ruling establishments and even non-Congress ruled states like Odisha where elections will be held in 2014. The state’s ruling BJD and its leader Naveen Patnaik who has been leading the government third time in a row are a worried lot as they are apprehensive of an ant-incumbency factor. That has prompted the Chief Minister to send emissaries to all 30 districts as observers to study the prospects of the sitting MLAs. Even Naveen is said to have lost faith over re-elections in several of his Cabinet colleagues or senior party legislators. That’s simply the reason he has asked his emissaries to identify new people to replace the old guards. The whole exercise of sending observers to districts has been meticulously planned in the name of massive signature campaign (1 crore) to submit the Union government in protest against the Centre’s step motherly treatment to Odisha for not declaring it as a special category state.

Not only this, day in and day out, Naveen is also facing stiff challenges from his bête-noire Pyari Mohan Mahapatra. Mahapatra, a former bureaucrat, has floated a new political party- Odisha Jana Morcha (OJM), a breakaway fraction of ruling BJD. Mahapatra, known as ‘uncle’, was the chief advisor to Naveen and was no.2 in the BJD. Mahapatra’s unsuccessful coup on May 29 last year, has been still giving sleepless nights to Naveen.

Though Naveen has successfully tided over that crisis, but Mahapatra under OJM banner has been rallying BJD workers in many places and political parties, like Congress and BJP, are also joining him.

However, amidst all these- the emergence of rejuvenated principal Opposition party Congress with new PCC (I) president Jayadev Jena, a Dalit face and the frequent visit of Rahul Gandhi to Odisha, has further added woes to Naveen. Besides this, the revamped BJP with whom Naveen had snapped ties just before last elections in 2009, has just appointed its western Odisha strongmen KV Singhdeo its state president; has also doubled Naveen’s concern. Apart from this, the Left parties which were in alliance with BJD during last elections, are in loggerheads with him over POSCO, Vedanta and Tata steel projects. His industrialisation, mining, agriculture, tribal and land acquisition policies have alienated the Left.

Meanwhile, a few more political parties and fronts have surfaced and all of them have been targeting Naveen and his policies. Despite his best efforts to woo voters by announcing Re 1/- rice per kg to BPL families every month, a new youth policy, agriculture policy, cycle for high school-going girl students, 5 lakh forest land patta for tribal and forest dwellers and numerous other schemes like BIJU KBK, Madhubabu Pension scheme still
look insufficient to thwart anti-incumbency factor.

According to political observers- only his bachelorhood and clean image has kept him going all these 13 years. But, causality will be his little knowledge in Odia language. Even when he is unable to speak the language of the state he has been ruling since the last three consecutive term.

By Sudarshan Chhotoray from Bhubaneswar

http://udayindia.in/2013/06/22/will-congress-stage-a-comeback-in-odisha/

A lot needs to be done for backward states like Odisha during the 12th Plan Poverty At Its Worst

State Scan

July 21, 2012

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

Five year plans are important instrument in the planning process of our country. Five Year Plans are designed to be road maps for planners, implementers and regulators so that they follow the planned path. Every five year, a new plan is formulated which sets its own objectives, policies, programmes of development and growth target. Like the eleventh plan, the approach to 12th five year plan also focuses on achieving rapid but inclusive growth. It also added sustainable concerns.

The eleventh five year plan (2009-08 to 2011-12) had aimed at achieving faster and more inclusive growth. Rapid GDP growth, targeted at 9.0 percent per annum, was regarded necessary for two reasons: first to generate the income and employment opportunities that were needed for improving living standards for the bulk of the population; and second, to generate the resources needed for financing social sector programmes, aimed at reducing poverty and enabling inclusiveness.

Both Budget and plan reflects Government’s priorities and in this process public participation is very much essential. But it has been found during the last few decades that public participation is a week area. At the end of every plan period we often hear that the plan couldn’t ensure public participation properly. Similarly, bypassing plan outlay sometimes populist measurers or new schemes are being announced by successive governments that actually led to unbalanced development.

However, there is a need to see whether the primary but essentials tools like Development Approach, Rural Development, and Sustainable Natural Resources Management with emphasis on Forest, Land and Water. Governance & Equity share with special reference on regional imbalance and social inequality besides Gender and Social Exclusion are there or not. But, it has become a customary practice since the inception of first five year plan from 1951-1956 that laid stress on only in Growth trajectory which is either static, stagnant or staggering from 4.3 per cent in first five year plan to a maximum 8.2 per cent in eleventh plan period.

According to the sources in Union Government; in preparing the Approach paper, the Planning Commission consulted much more widely than even before recognizing the fact that Citizens are now better informed and also keen to engage. Over 950 civil society organizations across the country have provided inputs; business associations, including those representing small enterprises have been consulted; modern electronic and social media are being used to enable citizens to give suggestions. All state governments as well as local representative institutions and Unions, have been consulted through five regional consultations. While contesting these arguments a grassroots activist working with farming communities said “all these lack inputs from field and remote areas for which the plan is targeted”.

Other important feature of the growth experienced in the eleventh plan, which is relevant to inclusiveness, is that high rates of economic growth have been more broadly shared than ever before across the states. While most states have shown sustained high rates of growth, several of the economic weaker States have demonstrated an improvement in their growth rates. Amongst them are Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and to some extent Uttar Pradesh. According to the available data no State has averaged GSDP growth of less than 6.0 per cent during the eleventh plan period.

While the economically- weaker states are catching up in growth rates, there is a growing concern about the backwardness of individual districts, several of which are located in states that are otherwise doing well. Many of these districts are also affected by Left Wing Extremism. The Backward Regions Grant Fund (BGRF) and various other regional initiatives have been specially designed to address this problem.

Reducing poverty is a key element in the inclusive growth strategy and there is some progress in this regard. According to previous official poverty estimates, the percentage of the population living below the poverty line had declined by 8.5 percentage points between 1993-04 and 2004-05. Since the appropriateness of the poverty line was questioned in some quarters, the Government appointed an expert committee under the Chairmanship of the late Prof. Suresh Tendulkar. The Tendulkar Committee recommended a recalibration of rural poverty line to make it more comparable with the urban poverty line, which it found to be appropriate. The application of Tendulkar Committee poverty line provides a higher estimate of rural poverty and therefore also of total poverty, but if the new method is applied to the earlier years, as it should be, it shows that the percentage of the population in poverty declined from 45 percent in 1993-94 to 37 per cent in 2004-05. Thus, poverty declined at roughly 0.8 percentage points per year during the 11 year period before the Eleventh Plan.

The Eleventh Plan had set a more ambitious target of achieving a decline in poverty ratio of 2 percentage points per year. While the actual performance in this regard was below this target, it was better than it was in the earlier decade. But many in civil society and integenstia do not agree with this statistical jugglery.

The Eleventh Plan gave special impetus to several programmes aimed at building rural and urban infrastructure and providing basic services with the objective of increasing inclusiveness and reducing poverty. The Schemes like MGNREGA, Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), NRHM, ICDS, Mid Day Meal (MDM), Sarva Sikhya Abhiyan (SSA), JNNURM, AIBP, Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyuti Karan Yojana (RGGVY), NRDWP and Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) and Rastriya Krushi Vikash Yojana. And there are approximately 267 centrally sponsored schemes of the them at least 150 are large programmes.

Most of these programmes are Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS), which are implemented by State Government Agencies, but are largely funded by the Central Government with a defined state government share. The total expenditure on these schemes by the central government in 2011-12 (Budget Estimate) is RS.188, 573 crore, and the total expenditure during the Eleventh Plan is almost 700,000 crore. As one would expect the effectiveness of their implementation varies from State to State. Instances of misuse of funds are frequently reported in studies and press reports, and these are a legitimate source of concern that needs attention.

However, it must be kept in mind that while instances of misuse or leakage present serious problems, they do not necessary imply that the overall impact of the programme is not positive, argues the plan panel report. It stated MGNREGA which was started in 2006-07 and extended to the whole country during the Eleventh Plan period has seen several instances of misuse of fund, but it has also notched up a remarkable success. It must be admitted, however, that there has been a proliferation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes over a period of years. This has led to poor implementation, duplication, lack of convergence and sub-optional results. There is an urgent need to transform the system and sharply reduce the number of schemes. This will enable more focused and effective implementation, the report stressed. A Committee under Mr BK Chaturvedi, Member Planning Commission, has been appointed to review the entire gamut of Centrally Sponsored Schemes and make recommendations for rationalisation and consolidation leading to significant reduction in their number.

Odisha

Since long Odisha Government has been alleging that Central Government is neglecting the state and showing step motherly attitude. Due to non availability of Fund many programmes and Schemes has not seen the light of day said a source in state government. But in other hand Union Government has rejected state governments claim in saying, there has been no dearth of fund rather Odisha Government has failed to utilize funds meant for Centrally Sponsored Schemes or has diverted funds to convert these schemes as State Government Schemes. Between these allegations and counter allegations, the funds and welfare programmes meant for targeted communities have been the causality.

The issue has been raised by Odisha Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik on the 56th meeting of the National Development Council held on 22nd October 2011. Mr Patnaik in his intervention had said the approach of the Plan should be to reduce regional disparity. It is pity that States like Odisha which are rich in mineral resources have not been able to reap the benefits of rapid Industrialization due to certain lopsided policies of Government of India. Royalty from mineral resources which could have funded a higher plan size and trigger development has been kept persistently low in spite of several requests made by Odisha in the past. Due to sustained effort by mineral-based States, the Royalty rates have been shifted to an ad valorem regime but the impact of this change has been dented by an artificially low price of minerals as determined by the IBM. The matter has been taken up with Government of India on a number of occasions but the results have not been encouraging.

He further added, the draft approach paper has also focused on historically disadvantaged regions including the Koraput-Bolangir-Kalahandi (KBK) Region of Odisha, which continue to lag behind in terms of most development indicators. It argues for pro-actively addressing these concerns and find solutions to the problems of the region. Correction of Inter-state imbalances has been receiving special attention in the plan strategy of Odisha. Heavy incidence and persistence of poverty in the KBK region of odisha has been a cause of serious concern. Though the region has benefitted from implementation of Revised Long Term Action Plan (RLTAP), it still lags behind other regions of the state. In order to bring this region on a par with the other areas, the State, strongly urge Government of India to extend the Special Plan for the KBK region for at least ten years beyond the year 2011-12 with increased funding, in order to expedite development of the region as Odisha has developed an Eight Year Perspective Plan for a projected outlay of Rs. 4,550 crore in consultation with the Planning Commission.

According to a Policy Brief for 12th Plan Period compiled by Bhubaneswar based Regional Centre for Development Cooperation (RCDC) in collaboration with other organizations, said excessive growth focus on sectors like mining and quarrying contradicts the plan objective of sustainable and inclusive growth. The report further added, Odisha, being in the midst of a rapid transformation stage, needs to have its priorities and focus clear. India’s 12th Plan period approach paper cities Odisha’s fastest rate of economic growth-when compared to some other major states-as an indicator of ‘inclusiveness’. However, there have been a lot of concerns and apprehensions about widening disparities in development share and shouldering burden of destructions. On many socio-economic-environment parameters Odisha is falling farther behind. Odisha needs to revive its primary sector, i.e. agriculture. Apprehensions are that the present approach to development gives s suicidal over-emphasis on Industry sector and glosses over.

http://udayindia.in/2012/07/21/a-lot-needs-to-be-done-for-backward-states-like-odisha-during-the-12th-plan-poverty-at-its-worst/

By Sudarshan Chhotoray From Bhubaneswar

Neglect Of Agriculture Paves Way For Rise In Poverty In Odisha

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Special Report

May 26, 2012

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

Odisha is at a crossroads and some say the changes are irreversible. But when one comes across a number of struggles explicitly linked with the displacement drive one feels quite hopeful about the change in the current scenario of defeatism.

This is due to the state makes large land acquisitions on behalf of the private corporate sector, using the colonial-era Land Acquisition Act (1894). Even where the state pays what it calls the market rate for such land as it acquires, private firms stand to benefit greatly: for the market rate is calculated on the basis of sale prices of land in the previous period. Not many land sales take place in the period leading up to acquisition, and such sales as take place may understate the price in order to avoid stamp duty.

On the other hand, this regime of the free market economic policies had made the agriculture ruinous resulting in falling annual agricultural growth rates (an all-time low of 0.6 per cent per year during 1994/95-2004/05), return of usurious money lending (the non-institutional credit increased from 31 to 42 per cent of rural borrowing between 1991 and 2003); an official RBI committee has now charted out methods whereby rural moneylenders can be provided funds by the banks, and “incentivised” to reach credit to the financially excluded. The rulers have also been trumpeting microcredit as the answer to financial exclusion and a series of highly publicised farmer suicides.

The government policies since the beginning are adversarial towards the agriculture (in terms of trade with the industry). It is considered that agriculture is not a skilled job. Therefore, the wages in the agriculture sector is comparatively low and depressed. Even the government documents indicate that 1.89 per cent of persons in a rural areas work to maintain a family, while it is the single person for the organised sector. It is also a fact that public investment in agriculture (measured as a percentage of agricultural GDP) has been more than halved since the mid-1980s (fell from 38.97 in 1985-86 to 28.7 in 1990-91 [1980-81 prices] from 20.5 in 2004-05 to 17.6 in 2008-09 [Economic Survey, 2009-10]. The price support ‘safety net’ has no meaning and relevance as the support prices are set too low and, more generally, no proper system of implementation is in place.

Within the uneven development of Indian agriculture, new class of capitalist farmers have emerged from the peasantry and they accumulate through exploiting other rural classes while, at the same time, their surplus may well be appropriated in turn by traders and moneylenders. It may well be that an increasing share of the agrarian profits is being appropriated else where it is, for example, argued that increasing food prices from 2006 onwards have benefited the middlemen and not the farmers.

But then, how was growth taking place in Indian economy especially in Odisha? It is the non-agricultural growth that is being sustained across more than two decades of neo-liberal economic reforms based on sectors catering to the urban middle classes and export markets, while direct economic links between agriculture and the rest of the economy have been weakening for a long time. Agriculture has declined in importance for the non-agricultural economy and non-agricultural capitalist classes: capital for investment in industrial production is now available from non-agricultural sources, including international financial capital. Moreover, cheap food and agricultural raw materials can now be provided, at least partly, by the world market, as opposed to solely through productivity gains within India’s own agriculture.

While speaking to this Correspondent, Bijoyabhai of Campaign for Eminent Domain in Tribal Areas, said: “The neo-liberal policy changes from 1991 onwards also made farming more problematic, as the Indian agriculture was also used to operate within a shielded home market. But during the 1990s external trade in agricultural produce and inputs was liberalised, exposing Indian farmers to outside competition at fluctuating world market prices that were falling from 1997 and that fell dramatically for products such as edible oil, cotton and some plantation crops. At the same time, the environmental stress of modern agriculture has been felt by way of land degradation and falling water tables, adding to the difficulties of many farmers. Government of India data shows that real per capita farm incomes did not grow from 1997 to 2002, and in some states they fell.”

He further added, “But that mining NSDP at constant prices went up during the same period by an average of more than 10 per cent annually suggests that mining may be adversely affecting agricultural productivity. In fact, this seems to be the finding of researchers who attempted to analyze agricultural productivity in a coal mining region in Odisha and found that mining reduces agricultural yield and total factor productivity” .

Researchers argue: “Any developmental effort without due consideration for agricultural improvement will be proved nullified.” In levels of both unskilled and skilled wages, the mining districts (Angul, Bargarh, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Kendujhar, Koraput, Sundargarh) show lower annual increases than all except the KBK districts.

Percentage distribution of population by monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) classes in the 60th round NSS, reported in the 2006-07 Economic Survey of Odisha, also highlights the income inequality in Odisha from the urban-rural divide. Only 4.4 per cent of Odisha’s rural population has MPCE of Rs 775 and above, as against 15.4 per cent for India. But 56.2 per cent of Odisha’s urban population lie in this group compared to 52.4 per cent for the nation

Within the uneven development of Indian agriculture, new class of capitalist farmers has emerged from the peasantry and it accumulates through exploiting other rural classes while, at the same time, their surplus may well be appropriated in turn by traders and moneylenders. It may well be that an increasing share of the agrarian profits is being appropriated elsewhere. It is, for example, argued that increasing food prices from 2006 onwards have benefited the middlemen and not the farmers.

In the 63rd round NSS (July 2006-June 2007), the percentage of Odisha’s rural population having MPCE (monthly per capita expenditure) below Rs 365 was 43 per cent, the highest among the 17 states ( Economic Survey of Odisha 2008-09). Even for the urban population, where the benchmark is Rs 580, Odisha is the fourth worst. In 2004-05, the BPL percentage in Odisha had reached almost 40 per cent, and almost twice the national average. In Keonjhar, the most mined district in the state, 62 per cent of the population live below poverty line. In Koraput, the bauxite capital of India, 79 per cent live below the poverty line, says CSE report.

In fact, Odisha is one of the very few states that saw poverty as measured by the number of poor people increase in both its rural and urban areas between 1993-94 and 1999-2000. The state had the second highest rural and urban unemployment rate in 2004-05 (NSSO). Besides, the state is very poor in the Human Development Index (District Level Household and Facility Survey 3 in 2007-08). More recently, it stood on a par with countries like Nigeria and Kenya in the Global Hunger Index-2008.

The UNHDR-2009 not only put Odisha among the top five states in the country on the basis of large-scale migration of unskilled workers, but also pointed out that Ganjam district led the migration tally with a shocking 66 per cent migration rate, whereas the mining districts of Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj had 50 per cent migration from rural areas.

While poverty forced many tribal girls and women to leave Sundargarh district, during 2007 and 2008, almost 30,000 fishermen, who were earlier living in villages near the banks of the Chilika, migrated to neighbouring states in search of work, being victims of the massive prawn-culture in those area.

As far as employment-creation is concerned, as measured by number of workers per one crore (rupee) capital invested, it is, at 5.01, fourth lowest in the country. According to the NSS unemployment data (“current weekly” rate which is the best indicator of unemployment), indicates that, among the 15 major states, Odisha, which had the second highest rural unemployment rate and fourth highest urban unemployment rate in 1993-94, has the highest average annual change in both rural and urban unemployment rate during 1993-94 and 2004-05.

Interestingly, the number of agricultural labourers as a per cent of total workers (main+marginal) showed one of the highest increases in the mining districts. This is not because of an increase in the number of agricultural workers (cultivators+agricultural labourers), but because of a shrinking base of workforce. In fact, other research has shown that between 1991 and 2001, the number of agricultural workers (agricultural labourers+cultivators) showed the highest per cent decline in the mining districts. In contrast, the increase in workers in household industries as a percentage of total workers was not impressive for the mining districts. This was further corroborated by the change in the ratio of workers-in-household industry to the agricultural labourers, which we take as a measure of the relative importance of the household-industry vis-a-vis agriculture. This may even be implying that mining has not necessarily encouraged ancillarisation. The figure of 0.09 per cent for mining districts is quite low compared to the figures for all other categories, except the KBK districts, which showed a decrease, suggesting a possible shift from household industries to agriculture in these districts.

Odisha has one of the lowest wage rates in the country. It is interesting to note in this context that between1993-94 and 2003-04 unskilled wage (as measured by the rural daily wage of field labourers) increased by around 7.51 per cent per year, while the skilled wage (as measured by the rural daily wage of a carpenter) went up by 7.68 per cent.

However, Researchers have identified four areas in which the state has a vital role to play in farming: (a) irrigation; (b) soil and moisture conservation of rain-fed agriculture; (c) the development and spread of bio-chemical inputs; in particular, fertilizers; (d) State policy which affects agrarian institutions and prices .

The total cultivable land of the state is nearly 6.56 million hectares of which only 2.47 million hectares were irrigated by the end 1998-1999, which is 41.85 per cent of the total irrigable area of the state. Out of total proclaimed irrigated area, 1.14 million hectares of land are irrigated through major and medium irrigation projects, 0.44 million hectares, through minor (flow), 0.33 million hectares, through minor (lift), 0.55 million hectares through other sources, which include private tanks, ponds, dug wells, water harvesting structures and the like. Nearly 62 per cent of the cultivable land is rain fed. About 30 per cent of cultivable land is irrigated through major, medium, minor and lift irrigation.

The neglect of agriculture shows the absence of knowledge of history, which shows that, for a country not to be a dependent entity in the periphery; it has to put emphasis on agriculture. In fact, to be an independent entity in the centre, a country has to have a “sustained increase in the productivity of agriculture and hence also in the agricultural surplus”. This study also points out that it “is an illusion, perhaps widespread but reflecting ignorance of economic history, that industrialisation somehow lies at the heart of the process of economic development”. “On the contrary”, it adds, “It is the final act and the crowning achievement of economic development; and there is no direct route to its successful realisation”.

By SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY from Bhubaneswar

http://udayindia.in/2012/05/26/neglect-of-agriculture-paves-way-for-rise-in-poverty-in-odisha/

Maoists’ Tribal Base

http://udayindia.in/2012/05/05/maoists-tribal%e2%80%88base/

Maoists’ Tribal Base

Focus

May 5, 2012

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BY SUDARSHAN CHHOTORAY

Even though Government of Odisha has entered into an agreement with Maoist mediators to release the Italian National Paolo Bosusco and has ensured the release on 12th of this month from the Sabyasachi Panda faction of CPI (Maoist) through a joint statement; the fate of ruling BJD MLA Jhina Hikaka still hangs in balance as the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is on tenterhooks with new demands of Maoists owning allegiance to the Andhra-Odisha Boarder Special Zonal Committee (AOBSPZC). Finally, a deadline has been set, provided Government to consider their additional demands in releasing their five more comrades, even though government has already announced and conceded the names of 25 persons to be released whereas Naxals are demanding to release 29 of their comrades.

It is almost a month (14th March) since the Maoists have abducted two Italian Nationals from the remote tribal area of Kandhamal district in Odisha. Though one of the Italian Tourists Claudio Colangelo was released a week after for goodwill gesture as both Maoists and State engaged in dialogue through mediators, other still held captive with Maoists for28 days.

Leave aside the ordeals, food they eat, their mental status, many sleepless nights they have gone through, frequent change of places, away from family and friends and walking with armed militias deep in dense forests and hilly tracks of Odisha remote Kandhamal and Koraput districts; the entire state machinery is busy with examining one audio tape of another with fresh new demands and statements’ on the one hand and engaging a dialogue with interlocutors on the other, but still there is no breakthrough.

Never in the political history of the Odisha had an elected government danced to the tune of diktat of the armed revolutionaries in almost daily. With confusion over names of Maoist cadres and sympathizers and shadow over legal but judicial compulsions still unclear, the stalemate is likely to continue for another couple of days or weeks.

Besides their regular demands like stop Green hunt Operation, withdrawal of armed forces, release of their comrades and sympathizers, unconditional release of tribals engaged in land struggle, withdrawal of cases against villagers implicated by the police as Maoist supporters etc; this time they have raised some longstanding but genuine demands of Adivasi communities as conditions to release the abducted hostages.

The demands like implementation of OSSATIP Act 1956, scrapping bonded labour system and rehabilitating the released bonded labourers, recognizing tribal statues to few tribal groups, ensuring drinking water, irrigation facilities and minimum health care facilities for tribal villages and hamlets and above all stop repression on people protesting against industrializations and possible displacements etc. Apart from these, tribal tourism and visit of foreign nationals to tribal areas has been the bone of contention between government and Maoists.

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 DANGEROUS PRECEDENTS

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The Naveen Pattnaik Government is now paying the price for its half-hearted drive against the Maoists when the objective should have been to wipe them out by carrying on a relentless offensive on their jungle hideouts. Since such a desultory approach to the menace of these outlaws enabled them to survive, they have been emboldened to hold the state government to ransom by kidnapping two foreign tourists as well as BJD Laxmipur MLA Jhina Hikaka in Koraput district of Odisha at gunpoint. Unfortunately, the state machinery couldn’t learn any lesson after the abduction of the then Malkangiri Collector R Vineel Krishna last year.

Once these hostages had been taken, the state government should have gone against the band of outlaws with all the strength under its command. But instead of taking the fight to the Maoists, the government has been selected the easy way out by not only negotiating with them through a group of intermediaries, but also conceding the Maoist demands, which included the release of their comrades who have been put behind bars. This is exactly what has happened with the insurgents belonging to Telugu cadres dominated Andhra Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee(AOBSZC) demanding that a total of 27 detunes including a hardcore leader like Cheda Bhusanam alias Ghasi, responsible for killing more than 55 security personnel, be released. On the other, CPI (Maoist) state committee secretary Sabyasachi Panda alias Sunil wanted the release of seven persons in exchange of two Italian tourists, Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo.

But, the government was in a bind because the cops in the state threatened not to undertake any more anti-Maoist offensives if the government succumbs to Maoist pressure. The argument of the policemen has a great deal of justification because they are in the frontline although they are not always well-equipped and do not have the support of either helicopters or of adequate intelligence inputs. The lesson is clear. The police cannot be expected to fight the Maoists with one hand tied behind their backs. It has to be an all-out offensive. Otherwise, more states will fall prey to the red menace in the times to come. While the Maoists are now claiming that the government had gone back on most of the promises, the fact is that anti-Maoist operations were halted for quite some time after Krishna’s release and were only now picking up. The new release of 29 prisoners would put the clock back in the campaign against the Maoists. For this the Naveen Pattnaik government would have only itself to blame.

It has long been a basic feature of dealing with terrorists and blackmailers that yielding to pressure only encourages them to ratchet up their demands. There is no reason to understand why the Naveen Pattnaik government going soft on the Left Wing Extremists who have posed serious challenge to the internal security of the Nation. To quote Swaranjit Sen, former DGP, Andhra Pradesh, “It’s like history repeating itself without any lessons being learnt. Talks have only benefited the Maoists. This is a mess. Naveen Patnaik has set a very bad precedent. This is no way of dealing with a problem that has been termed as the biggest threat to internal security.”

This is the second time that the Odisha government has succumbed to Maoist pressure. Experts say while this is definitely affecting the morale of the security forces, it is also emboldening Maoists, thus setting a bad precedent in the state.

 By Kishore Dash from Bhubaneswar

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The crux of demands lies elsewhere as even after 64 years after independence, our tribal region is still backward, lives far from the so-called 9 per cent growth story, Industrial paradigm, lopsided development approach and administrative jargons’ etc. Not only this, empowerment of Adivasis in socio-economic and political sphere has been a far cry, so in terms of education, health, livelihood security, leadership in society.

For years together we have either ignored or turned a blind eye to tribal developments. Successive governments have concentrated on infrastructural or Industrial developments by constructing roads, buildings, dams, railway lines, power projects and mineral explorations as means of development for tribal region for which lakhs of tribal people were displaced and uprooted from their home, land and livelihood. Even Forest department had branded them as encroachers and had restricted, evicted them and their movements inside forests in the name of protected areas, reserve forests etc. They were subjected to inhuman torturers by the Police, Security Personnels, Company goons and middlemen for no fault of their own when they protested against industrial projects and illegal mining.

Quit similarly The constitutional provisions related to tribals (incorporated, even though half heartedly, both by the British and the Independent India due to wide spread revolt and resistance raised by tribals)- Art 19(5); 5th and 6th schedule; Art.275(1) of the Constitution of India ; PESA, FRA and various Government policy proclamations ( rescheduling of Schedule Areas, Excise policy, 74th Amendment (extension to Schedule Areas, yet to be enacted ), MFP, etc are so powerful as to be antithetical to the very basic tenets of neo-liberal policies.

As the disparity and dispossession grows, the people protest and resist spontaneously, very often with no well defined objectives, no formal membership and no organic leadership, but they express deep resentment over the outcome of the uneven development policy practices. Such has been the situation in our tribal areas.

Similar sentiments have been echoed by the interlocutors during the ongoing talk with the government. While summarizing the 13 point demands put forth by Maoists Dr BD Sharma one of the mediators from the Naxal side said, “The tribal areas were excluded and partially excluded until the adoption of the Constitution on November 26, 1949. Tribal people enjoyed full control over the resources-Land, Water and Forests-in these areas. It is the biggest irony that the tribal custom and tradition of ‘excluded area’ days have been forgotten except the Sixth Scheduled Areas. All laws of the land got extended to these areas in routine that ‘criminalized’ the entire tribal territories in the Fifth Scheduled areas. The concerned Governors did not use their powers under Para 5(1) of the Fifth Schedule. This is considered Constitution within the Constitution”.

Dr Sharma further added, “This anomaly was sought to be reserved under provisions of Panchayati Raj (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA) but appropriate action has not been taken by the concerned states. The result is that the tribal people are asserting their rights over the natural resources. The states are unconcerned about the right with tribal people who had been enjoying before the adoption of the constitution. The states are asserting the principle of Eminent Domain as in vogue thereby ignoring the rights of tribal communities over the resources now conceded implicitly under PESA”.

On the other hand, the state has refused to recognise the Eminent Domain of the Community in the Scheduled Areas and the so called government lands are assigned to outsiders for a variety of purposes including establishment of industries and mining etc. The land under the command of the people are acquired from unwilling simple tribal people using the aura of authority and a variety of manipulations. The provisions of PESA envisaging ‘Consultation’ that must be considered as ‘Consent’ is not honoured in their true spirit.

The spurt in Maoist activities in the state is not only attributed to lack of development and policy failures; there are other such reasons like exploitation of tribals by middlemen, rampant corruption and malpractices in government offices, apathetic attitude of local government employees, atrocities and indiscriminate attack by the police and forest officials, illegal land transfer by revenue officials, lack of sensitiveness of politicians from the panchayat level to parliament etc.

By Sudarshan Chhotoray From Bhubaneswar