Missing key probe could be an eyewash
A judicial probe into the missing key of the Puri Jagannath Temple has been ordered by the Chief Minister. The report of the probe by a retired Judge of the Orissa High Court is to be submitted in three months. Shankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth of Puri has criticized the State Government for its gross apathy. Missing of the keys has come to the fore since April 4, but why the Government was silent till now, BJP vice president Sameer Mohanty has asked. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Niranjan Patnaik has questioned the very credibility of judicial report saying Many Commissions have been set up during the last 18 years, but there has been no result. Missing of the Ratna Bhandar keys is a matter of grave concern for Odisha’s four and a half crore people and therefore becomes a sensitive issue. The Government should have taken disciplinary action against the guilty, Patnaik said. Minister Pradip Maharathy was talking nonsense when he said the keys are with lord Jagannath Himself. Action will be taken based on the findings of the probe but instances are galore that the findings are never made public especially when it goes against the Government. The issue has a far reaching impact on the public, especially ahead of the Rath Yatra and the Government will not take any risk in the penultimate year of the general election. Hence, setting up the commission is only to divert public attention.
CBI raids: RSP’s underbelly unmasked
Business tycoon Surendra Dua’s RSP connection and his involvement with officials indulged in corruption is well known to many. But when CBI tightened the noose around his company Reliable Hi-Tech Infrastructure Pvt ltd (RHIPl) on Friday taking retired senior executives of RSP in loop, the cat has came out of the bag. The CBI raids are linked with the arrest of the Executive Director Works Bhubaneswar Prasad Verma earlier in January last year. Besides Surendra Dua, the Managing Director of RHIPl three senior officers of RSP namely retired ED (Material management) Paramananda Sahoo, former DGM in-charge (Electrical) of coke ovens PK Das and Technical Advisor at ED (Works) Rajiv Ranjan have been named as the accused in the FIR. The RHIPl despite facing CBI inquiry has bagged fresh annual rate contract for maintenance of coke oven machines and coke dry cooling plant (CDCP) equipment for 2018-19. The accused officers are said to have hatched a conspiracy to eliminate RHIPl’s close contender Utkal Projects Private ltd (UPPl) from tendering process. In yet another affair CBI raided the premises of WlC proprietor Sriram Agrawal to whom Verma allegedly showed undue favour. WlC is an authorised representative of ABB ltd in awarding orders for supply of electrical, electronic and electro-mechanical machines. President RSP Executives’ Association Bimal Bisi, meanwhile, has said despite his letter to the Chief Vigilance Officer and other authorities of SAIl, the post of technical advisors (TAS) was not brought under the purview of sensitive areas.
Talcher–B’garh rail line issue raised
The slow progress of construction of the Talcher-Bimalgarh rail line has once again hugged the limelight after Rourkela MlA Dilip Ray raised the issue in an attempt to invoke attention of the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister and the Railway Minister requesting them to expedite the process of land acquisition to complete the long awaited project. Once completed, the distance between Bhubaneswar and Rourkela will reduce by 115 km and rail users of Sundargarh, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Puri and Khorda, besides those from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, will benefit. The East Coast Railways had issued the letter of request for acquisition of the Government land and forest land since 2015 but problems continue to come on the way. He has asked the State Government to remain in constant touch with the Collectors and Tehsildars of both the districts. Those responsible for delay must be punished and public opposition to transfer of land must be ensured through a bipartite dialogue, he said and suggested for review meetings at least once in two months. Ray continues to put pressure on the Centre and the State Government in the midst of a speculation to join BJD. But it must be remembered that Ray is a known champion of landless people, who once encouraged them for unauthorised occupation of Government and railway land to construct temporary huts.
MCl's Garjanbahal mines still delayed
Coal production from Garjan opencast mines in the Vasundhara Area of Mahanadi Coalfields limited (MCl) will start after the monsoon. According to official sources, the project is taking shape with infrastructure and associated jobs to start production. It took about 14 years to complete the lengthy process of land acquisition and obtain forest and environment clearance. Now that the hurdles have been cleared, the MCl authorities have taken up works for construction of drains, digging of trenches and other safety related matters. The IB valley coalfields of MCl are spread over Jharsuguda and Sundargarh districts and as per estimate of April 2015, the total coal reserves are about 24.83 billion tonnes, suitable for power generation. Projected demand from Ib valley coalfields by 2026-27 is likely to be 120.56 MTPA while coal mines in Sundargarh would cater to about 100 MTPA. Compensation to land losers of Garjanbahal coal mines area has been paid only recently and the affected people are yet to be covered under the employment scheme for their rehabilitation. That is why there is regular stir by the locals who fall under the rehabilitation scheme. Similarly, transporters, especially the truck owners, may go for wildcat strike because of MCl’s multiple choice of transportation, mostly through the railways.