Chit fund, mining scams BJD’s Achilles heel
BJP president Amit Shah’s three-day visit to Odisha generated ample heat to inspire the otherwise dull booth level leaders for carrying on the 120 plus target with a missionary zeal. Shah has virtually taken the battle into the BJD camp by vigorously pushing Narendra Modi’s development agenda to deliver an Uttar Pradesh like victory in Odisha. The saffron party has decided to project the failure of the ruling dispensation by highlighting the success of the NDA Government’s achievements in the last three years. The advance preparation of BJP comes in the wake of speculation for an early election in 2018. launching a diatribe against Naveen on all fronts, Shah targeted BJD for its alleged non-cooperation with the Centre for development of the State. Many States have made rapid progress in the last 20 years while Odisha is still backward despite huge financial resources made available by the Centre. He attributed the poor performance of the State to large scale corruption in all spheres of administration. Shah’s speech might have made an impact on the booth leaders but the final impact depends as to how the message percolates down the voters. The tone and tenor of his speech, however, was weak enough to raise an anti-incumbency factor required to upset the BJD applecart in the State. Chit fund scam and corruption in the mining sector are two strong issues which need to be raised with credible facts if BJP wants to push the ruling dispensation back to the wall. Reemergence of the old horse Congress notwithstanding, the BJP will also have to fight against the rejected party which still carries its traditional vote base in the State.
State Cong all set for rejig ahead of polls
A massive reshuffle in the faction-ridden Congress in Odisha seems imminent after what is believed to be the final round of talk by its vice president Rahul Gandhi with almost all prominent Congress leaders of the State. The AICC observes panel in their report submitted to the party High Command has underscored infighting coupled with indiscipline and weak organization as some of the major concernsfor the Odisha unit. The observers are believed to have told Rahul that the Odisha Congress must put its house in order. In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation Rahul held discussions with the PCC chief Prasad Harichandan and 36 senior leaders of the State. He also had a separate meeting with Niranjan Pattnaik who had sought an audience. According to sources, the PCC will be revived with a massive restructure plan. Niranjan is believed to replace Harichandan with Naba Das, former MP Pradeep Majhi and Chiranjiv Biswal are the likely names for the post of working presidents (1 plus 3 formula). Bhakta Das will be the chief of the campaign committee. While a formal announcement is awaited, party insiders feel even the new president will not able to stem the rot. The 1 plus 3 formula is already there in Karnataka and this will be put into test in Odisha ahead of the 2019 general election where some of the party leaders have predicted 85 seats for the State congress in the Assembly, though it looks incredible against the pan-India performance of the national party. Only a miracle can make this happen.
Rourkela: All eyes now on State projects
Belatedly though, the Central Government has given shape to all the three projects it had announced for Rourkela and two out of them are being monitored by the PMO. The official launch for construction of a six lane bridge on river Bramhani by Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently has assured the Rourkelites about its completion on time. Similarly, conversion of the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) into a super specialty hospital with a medical college which was on the brink of failure due to continuous loss by the SAIl, has gained momentum after the sanction of Rs 200 crore grant by the Centre. The third one is the UDAN scheme, again a Central project under the aegis of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) with support from the Government of Odisha. The airstrip which was to be handed over to the AAI is believed to be in the last stage after much dilly dallying by the Steel Authority of India (SAIl). The people of Rourkela can now pin their hope on these projects as the cloud has passed over. But what about the equal number of important projects announced by the State GovernmentIJ The Koel barrage project and Odisha’s largest market yard in Balughat area are the State sanctioned projects for which foundations have been laid by the CM himself. Similarly, the CM had announced a branch of the Xavier Institute of Management when the IIM was denied to Rourkela. Now all these State sponsored projects are in the files gathering dust. Rourkela is equally eager to see these projects completed before the next general election. It is time the Government displayed its competitive spirit in deeds, not in words. A wake up call for the ruling BJD indeed!
Jharsuguda airstrip UDAN ready
Envisaged as a full-fledged airport from April next year, the Jharsuguda airport is now UDAN (Udega Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) ready to herald Odisha’s regional air connectivity programme. Odisha’s Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi said on Tuesday last that the State Government is providing both manpower and financial support to make the regional connectivity scheme viable during initial periods. The other airstrips selected under the scheme will take more time as they need infrastructure. Jeypore in Koraput district and Utkela in Kalahandi are the two other airstrips which will take time for providing necessary infrastructure to make them flight ready, may be by December. Air routes like Bhubaneswar to Utkela, Utkela to Raipur, Bhubaneswar to Jeypore, Bhubaneswar to Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda to Ranchi and Bhubaneswar to Rourkela have been suggested for regional connectivity. Around 44 security personnel and nine fire service personnel will be deployed in each airport. The State Government will bear the cost of security, safety, fire services and airport management. It will also provide electricity and water at nominal cost. It is, however, surprising that in spite of request made by the State Government and the AAI to make the Rourkela airstrip ready for UDAN, the steel plant authorities are yet to give their positive response.