PM MANAMOHAN SINGH ON Talabira Coal Block Allocation Matter

There has been extensive media coverage recently of the matter relating to the allocation of Talabira-II and III coal blocks in Odisha to Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, Neyveli Lignite Corporation and HINDALCO.

2. Coal block allocations, including this one, are the subject of a CBI inquiry which is being monitored by the Supreme Court. However, the Talabira coal block allocation is a case where the final decision differed from the earlier recommendation of the Screening Committee, and this was done following a representation received in the Prime Minister's Office from one of the parties, which was referred to the Ministry of Coal.

3. The Prime Minister is satisfied that the final decision taken in this regard was entirely appropriate and is based on the merits of the case placed before him. The details of the processing at different stages of the decision making are summarized in the Annexure to clarify the position.

5. It is recognized that this allocation is subject to an ongoing investigation. No impediment is being placed on the CBI to continue the investigation and seek fresh information which may have a bearing on the case.

6. The investigation on this and other matters must take their normal course under the law.

Annexure

1. The Prime Minister received a letter dated 7.5.2005 from Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla requesting allocation of Talabira-II coal block in Odisha to HINDALCO for its 650 MW captive power plant in its Integrated Aluminium Project in Sambalpur District, Odisha and for a 100 MW captive plant for the expansion of its Hirakud Aluminium plant in Odisha. The letter was acknowledged by the Prime Minister who noted on the letter– “Please get a report from Coal Ministry”.

2. The Prime Minister’s Office forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Coal on 25.5.2005 requesting it to look into the matter and send a report.

3. Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla submitted another letter to the Prime Minister on 17.6.2005 repeating the request. This letter was linked to the earlier reference and sent to the Ministry of Coal with a request to send their report on the matter.

4. In August 2005, Ministry of Coal sent its file on the matter to the Prime Minister. In the file, it was mentioned that the Screening Committee had considered three major contenders for allocation of Talabira-II and decided to allocate this block to Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) as:

(i) adequate coal linkages had been provided to HINDALCO from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. (MCL) a long time back and HINDALCO had not used the coal,

(ii) Talabira-II & III blocks needed to be developed together to extract an additional 30 million tonnes of coal which would have gone waste otherwise at the boundaries of each block, (Talabira-III is a coal block which had been separately allocated to Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.) and

(iii) NLC & Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. can develop the two blocks together as one large mine through a Joint Venture (JV).

Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla had requested for allocation of Talabira-II to HINDALCO as:

(i) HINDALCO was the first applicant for it as long back as 1996,

(ii) the coal linkage granted earlier was not used as a bauxite mine lease relating to the aluminium plant had not materialized,

(iii) in view of the current shortage of coal, Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. will not be able to supply coal as per the earlier linkage, and

(iv) the Government of Odisha favoured allocation of Talabira-II to HINDALCO in preference to NLC.

5. While the file was being processed in PMO, the Prime Minister received a letter dated 17.8.2005 from the Chief Minister of Odisha on the allotment of Talabira-II to HINDALCO. The CM’s letter mentioned that the State Government had assigned topmost priority to the allocation of Talabira-II to HINDALCO and had strongly supported the case in the Steering Committee meeting. The letter mentioned that aluminium plants should get higher priority over independent power plants as they generate more employment, create more wealth for the country and add to the growth of the manufacturing sector directly. Further, it stated that it is equitable to accord higher priority to units adding more value through manufacturing within the state where the coal mine is located. The letter urged that these special considerations be kept in mind and the matter examined expeditiously.

6. On 29.8.2005, the Ministry of Coal file on the matter was returned with the comment that while the file was being processed, a letter was received from Chief Minister, Odisha and the Ministry of Coal may please take this letter of CM, Odisha on record, re-examine the matter in light thereof and resubmit the file.

7. Ministry of Coal resubmitted the file on 16.9.2005 with the proposal that

i) Talabira II & III be mined as a single mine with the mining done by a JV formed between MCL, NLC & HINDALCO.

ii) The shareholding of the JV between MCL:NLC:HINDALCO to be 70:15:15.

iii) Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd’s equity shareholding of 70% would approximately equal Talabira-III’s extractable reserves as a proportion of the total of the two blocks. Under the sharing arrangement, 70% of the total annual production will be handed over to Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.

iv) The remaining 30% of the annual production will be shared equally between HINDALCO and NLC with each getting 15%.

v) The satisfaction level of NLC would be 29% of its total requirement and of HINDALCO, 81.5%.

8. The reasoning given by the Ministry of Coal was that:

i) Talabira-II & III combined have reserves of 553 million tonnes.

ii) The total requirement of coal from these blocks from the three main contenders is 503 million tonnes, with NLC seeking 280 million tonnes, HINDALCO seeking 100 million tonnes and Orissa Sponge Iron Ltd (OSIL) seeking 123 million tonnes.

iii) Allocating the blocks to these three would leave little coal for Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.

iv) NLC may not be dropped as it is a Central PSU already recommended by the Screening Committee. HINDALCO’s case for allocation has been strongly recommended by the State Government and it has also been an early applicant. OSIL can be accommodated elsewhere.

v) It was further brought out that the Government of Odisha have indicated a clear preference for allotment of the block to HINDALCO in the interest of creating more employment and growth of the manufacturing sector in the state.

vi) It was also pointed out that while both HINDALCO and NLC get the same amount of coal, HINDALCO’s satisfaction level is about 80%, whereas NLC’s is much lower.. However, as NLC and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. are proposing to set up a JV power plant from the coal available from Talabira-II & III, NLC’s full requirements could be met from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd’s reserves in Talabira-III. This would fully meet the coal requirement of the two CPSUs to set up their power project and protect the interests of the CPSUs.

9. While processing this proposal in PMO, it was noted that the ownership ratio in the JV ownership was not in congruence with the guidelines approved by PM on 09.06.2005 which required this ratio to be in proportion to the assessed requirement of coal of each allocatee. As per this guideline, the NLC:HINDALCO ratio in their 30% share should be 22.5:7.5 and not 15:15 as was proposed.

10. While recommending the case to the Prime Minister, it was clearly brought out that:

i) The State Government of Odisha has strongly recommended allocation of Talabira-II to HINDALCO and supported it in the Screening Committee. Chief Minister, Odisha had reiterated this position assigning topmost priority to the allocation of Talabira-II in favour of HINDALCO.

ii) Under the MMDR Act, the mining lease for coal is granted by the State Government with the previous approval of the Central Government. Thus, under the federal framework of sharing mining rights as provided under the Act, both the Central and State Governments need to concur before an allocatee can be granted a mining lease. Accordingly, the strong recommendation of the Government of Odisha is important and has to be given due consideration while taking a decision in the matter.

iii) The Ministry’s suggestion for allocation of 30% share of production in the JV for Talabira-II & III combined to NLC & HINDALCO, with the remaining 70% of the total production taken by MCL has merit and may therefore be considered for acceptance.

iv) As for the NLC:HINDALCO equity ratio in the JV, this would require relaxation of guidelines that were approved by PM earlier, but this could be considered as NLC and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. are sister PSUs and NLC’s requirements of coal could be met from Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd’s 70% share of production. This would fully meet the coal requirement of the two CPSUs to set up their power project and protect the interests of the CPSUs.

11. Based on these arguments, and also on the reasoning of the Ministry, it was proposed that Prime Minister may approve:

i) Allocation of Talabira-II & III to a JV owned jointly by MCL:NLC:HINDALCO in the ratio 70:15:15 with the other aspects as proposed by the Ministry.

ii) The existing long term coal linkage of HINDALCO may be reviewed and suitably reduced after taking into account HINDALCO’s requirement of coal for the project and the share of HINDALCO in the coal mined by the JV in Talabira-II & III.

12. The Prime Minister approved the proposal on 1.10.2005.

Professions of Indian MP

IS IT TRUE ? BUT THERE IS NO SEGMENT OF CRIME, CHEATER, CORRUPTED ..... Fifteenth Lok Sabha Member's Profession-Wise Summary S.No. Name of Profession No. of Members 1 Advocate 75 2 Agricultural and Animal husbandry 0 3 Agriculturist 222 4 Architect 1 5 Artist 7 6 Builder 8 7 Businessperson 88 8 Chartered Accountant 0 9 Chartered Engineer 1 10 Civil Servant 7 11 Commentator 1 12 Computer Scientist 2 13 Consultant 6 14 Consultant Surgeon 1 15 Contractor 1 16 Cricketer 1 17 Cultural activist 1 18 Defence Services 4 19 Diplomat 3 20 Distributor 1 21 Economist 0 22 Educationist 26 23 Engineer 15 24 Farmer 25 25 Film Artist 6 26 Fim Producer 1 27 General and Laparoscopic Surgeon 1 28 Horticulturist 6 29 I.T. Professional 1 30 Industrial Worker 0 31 Industrialist 28 32 International Civil Servant 1 33 IPS Officer (Retd.) 1 34 Journalist 8 35 Judge 0 36 Lawyer 1 37 Medical Practitioner 21 38 Musician 3 39 Other 1 40 Philanthropist 1 41 Philanthropist and Social Worker 2 42 Pilot 2 43 Poet 2 44 Political and Social Worker 103 45 Producer and Director 1 46 Producer and Distributer 0 47 Professor 8 48 Publisher 4 49 Religious Missionary 2 50 Scientist 1 51 Social Reformer 1 52 Social Worker 157 53 Sportsperson 7 54 Strategy Consultant 1 55 Surgeon 0 56 Teacher 18 57 Teacher (Retd.) 1 58 Technologist 1 59 Trade Unionist 9 60 Trader 6 61 Trading Business 1 62 Transport 4 63 Veterinarian 0 64 Women Social Activist 1 65 Writer 13

IS RAHUL GANDHI SERIOUS TO BE A GAME CHANGER

NONSENSE ORDINANCE AND RAHUL
IS RAHUL GANDHI SERIOUS TO BE A GAME CHANGER

ON ISSUE OF ROBERT VADRA: CAN HE DAMAND AN INDEPENDENT INQUIRY ON LAND DEALS.

ON ISSUE OF UPA SCAMSTERS: CAN HE URGE PM AND HIS AIDES TO COME CLEAN ON THE 2G SPECTRUM AND COALGATE.

ON ISSUE OF LOKPAL: CAN HE SEEK EFFECTIVE LOKPAL BILL.

ON INTERNAL DEMOCRACY OF CONGRESS: CAN HE DEMAND OPEN ELECTION IN CONGRESS INCLUDING PCC, AICC PRESIDENT.

ON RTI : CAN HE PUBLICY DEMAND THE ALL PARTY SHOULD COME UNDER RTI.

( OUTLOOK)

WHAT, WHEN AND HOW THE GREAT FODDER SCAM

THE GREAT FODDER SCAM

The Mechanics of Scam:

A fake allotment letter had  generated indicating a much higher allocation than the budgeted amount.

Fake allotments had sent to concerned treasuries and field offices from the Patna secretariat.

Field offices had generated orders for fodder, medicine, equipment far in excess of requirement.

Fake Challan’s were produced for supplies never made.

Field offices had issued fake receipts, acknowledging deliveries not made and cook up false inventories.

Based on fake delivery receipts, fake payment orders were issued but actual payments made by treasuries.

Anatomy of an official tour

A crucial piece of evidence came the CBI’s way vide the tour record of a clerk posted at the Secretariat in Patna in the Animal Husbandry Department.

Boards a night bus for Ranchi Arrives at Ranchi in the morning and boards the afternoon flight for Delhi. Lands at Delhi late in the afternoon and boards the Magadh Express bound for Patna.

This cycle would repeat itself every two months or so. There is no variation whatsoever.

Computerization of accounts enabled the AG to detect the pattern.

The input was passed on to the CBI, which interrogated the man, who spilled the beans.

His job was to collect treasury cheques from Ranchi and deliver them to suppliers at Delhi.

BUDGET PRESENTED BY LALU, NO ONE OPPOSED

Budget presented by Laloo Yadav as finance minister truthfully reflected the figures. But no questions were raised by legislators, bureaucrats or the media. The oddity, however started out of the budget documents related to the animal husbandry department.

An illustrative example:

45 crores last year budget estimate

42 crores in revised estimate

200 crores is the actual expenditure

48 croe next year budget….

Why the legislator, AG and Media mom on this (source outlook)

ODISHA CONGRESS SUFFERS LEADER DEFICIENCY SYNDROME

LETTERS TO PCC AND AICC

ODISHA CONGRESS SUFFERS LEADER DEFICIENCY SYNDROME

Nowadays, Odisha and Assam are only two Eastern State where Congress has number. In Bihar and West Bengal congress has no soil to stand. But it fortunately or unfortunately now in Odisha, Congress suffers in Leader Deficiency Syndrome (LDS). But unlike AIDS it is curable. The only one medicine for the LDS is Discipline, stratagem of AICC and political equation. There is simple solution of the LDS. Good medicine for LDS. Before give some suggestion or prescribe some medicine, first patient should be clear that, actually Sonia and Rahul wants to revival of Odisha Congress.

If Yes, PCC constitutes as follows :

1.     PCC PRESIDENT - LALATENDU BIDYADHAR MOHAPATRA : BECAUSE LULU IS A PAN ODISHA CONGRESS LEADER.

2.    TICKET SCREENING COMMITTEE : ODISHA PRAVARI B.K. HARIPRASAD (CHAIRMAN)

MEMBER :

I.                  LULU MOHAPATRA

II.               NIRANJAN PATANAIK

III.           JAYADEV JENA

IV.           SRIKANTA JENA

V.              BHAKTA DAS

VI.           CHANDRASEKHAR SAHU

VII.       HEMANANDA BISWAL

VIII.    BHUPINDAR SINGH

3.    CHARGE SHEET COMMITTEE AND SPOKES PERSON : NARASINGHA MISHRA, PRASAD HARICHANDAN AND GANESWAR BEHERA

4.    PRACHAR COMMITTEE: SOUMYA PATANAIK (CHAIRMAN) BECAUSE : STRONG MEDIA BACK GROUND.

5.    FUND COLLECTION : NIRANJAN, LULU, NABA DAS

100% GUARANTEE TREATMENT

POLITICAL EQUATION VS STAR CAMPAIGNER

POLITICAL EQUATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN STAR CAMPAIGNER. WITHOUT POLITICAL EQUATION NO PARTY CAN WIN. STAR CAMPAIGNER ONLY ATTRACT PEOPLE TO THE RALLY BUT CANNOT CONVERT INTO VOTE.... AN ANALYSIS OF DR. BELALSEN, WHICH PUBLISHED IN SURYAPRAVA, DAILY NEWS PAPER.... ON SUNDAY 6TH OCTOBER 2013...

POLITICAL MANDATE IN ODISHA

IS ODIA LOVES CONGRESS

(An analysis from 1^st to 6^th assembly election, where Congress got absolute majority in 1961 (3^rd assembly election)

Dr. Belal Sen

We have a wide-ranging political perception that Odia’s are loves congress. For which congress have ruled Odisha for so many years. Congress had destroyed Odisha with rampant corruption. Odias are poor due to the awful governance and corrupt practice of Congress. But if we go through the political mandate, we will disappoint with our perception.

From the first assembly election to till today, the people of Odisha say no Congress for so many times. Where as in all over India congress swept in many and measure states. But it is true that Congress had existed as largest party and manages to form government with the help of others.

In the first assembly election in 1952, from the 140 seats congress got 67 seats where Ganatantra Parishad got 31, Socialist 10, Communist 7, F.B (M) and Independent got one each. Nabakrushna Choudhury as the Leader of the majority party became the Chief Minister on 20th February, 1952. He resigned on the 19th October, 1956 and Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab was appointed as the Chief Minister on the same day.

Like this the Party position in Second Assembly in 1957 was Congress 56, Ganatantra Parishad 51, PSP 11, CPI 9 and Independent 13. Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab as the Leader of the largest single party in the legislature was appointed Chief Minister on 6th April, 1957. Rajendra Narayana Singh Deo was declared as the Leader of the Opposition. However, the Minority Government proved shaky and the Congress-Gantantra Parishad formed coalition Ministry on the 22nd May, 1959. The coalition Ministry resigned on the 21st February, 1961 due to differences in the Congress Party. President’s Rule was imposed for the first time in the State on 25th February, 1961.

After 10 years of Independence and assembly election Congress cross the magic mark in third assembly election. The party position in the Third Assembly was Congress 82, GP 37, PSP 10, CPI 4 and Independent 7. Congress forms the govt with the leadership of Biju Patnaik.  But Biju lasts 23rd June, 1961 to 2nd October, 1963 only. After him Subsequently Biren Mitra and Sadasiva Tripathy became the Chief Minister of Odisha.

In Fourth Assembly election the number game of Odisha politics was Swatantra Party 49, Jana Congress 26, INC 31, Praja Socialist Party (PSP) 21, CPI 7, CPI M 1, Samukhya Socialist Party 2 and Independents 3.  Meanwhile Ganatantra Parishad had merged itself in the Swatantra Party of India. A new regional party, Jana Congress had come into being under the leadership of Dr. Harekrushna Mahtab. Both Swatantra and Jana Congress Party formed the Coalition Government with R.N. Singh Deo, the Leader of the Swatantra Party, as the Chief Minister. Due to difference between the parties the Coalition Government collapsed on 9th January, 1971. In 1969 there was split in the Congress Party into Congress (R) and Congress (O). A new regional party called "Utkal Congress" under the leadership of Shri Biju Patnaik was formed towards the end of this period.

In Fifth assembly election INC got only 51 seats where as Swatantra Party 36, Utkal Congress 33, PSP 4, CPI 4, CPIM 2, INC (o) , Jana Congress 1, Jharkhanda 4 and Independents 4. Swatantra Party along with the new regional Party Utkal Congress formed the Coalition Ministry with Shri Biswanath Das as the Chief Minister. Again a new party named Pragati Legislature Party was formed with the Utkal Congress, Swatantra Party and others.

Party position in the Sixth Assembly as per the election result was INC 70, Swatantra Party 21, Utkal Congress 35, Jharkhand 1, CPI 7, CPI (M) 3, Jana Congress 1, Socialist Party 2, and Independents 7.  Smt. Nandini Satpathy, Leader of the Congress Party, formed the Ministry on the 6th March, 1974. Shri Biju Patnaik, Leader of Pragati Legislature Party was declared Leader of the Opposition on 19th March, 1974 and continued as such till the 10th December 1974. Towards the end of 1974, Bharatiya Lok Dal, a new All-India Party came into being with the merger of seven parties including Utkal Congress, Swatantra and S.S.P. On the 10th December, 1974, Pragati Legislature Party was renamed as Bharatiya Lok Dal Legislature Party and Shri Biju Patnaik as the Leader of the Bharatiya Lok Dal was declared Leader of Opposition. Shri Patnaik continued as such till 24th March, 1977.

The Janata Party was formed with the amalgamation of Bharatiya Lok Dal, Congress (O) and the Socialist Party in early 1977. On the 31st March, 1977 formation of the Janata Legislature Party was announced in the House and Shri Ram Prasad Mishra, Leader of Janata Legislature Party, was declared the Leader of Opposition and he continued to function as such till 30th April, 1977. Smt. Satpathy resigned on 16th December, 1976 and Orissa was placed under President’s Rule till 29th December, 1976, but the Assembly was kept under suspended animation. Shri Binayak Acharya was elected as the Leader of the Congress Party in place of Smt. Satpathy and became the Chief Minister of Orissa on 29th December, 1976 and continued as such till 30th April, 1977. The State was placed again under President’s Rule from 30th April, 1977 to 26th June, 1977.

From 1^st assembly election to 6^th assembly election congress got absolutely numbers for form a govt in 1961. Which govt. lasts only 2 years. In 6^th assembly election congress close to the magic number. But congress govt. destabilized several times put the state under the Presedent Rule….

In next column I will analyzing from 7^th assembly election.

 drbelalsen@gmail.com