As discharge of water from Hirakud Dam was drastically cut to about 1.07 lakh cusec following reduced inflow into the reservoir, water level in Mahanadi delta region started falling though vast areas still remain submerged, official sources said in Bhubaneswar.

Congress leader Jagdish Tytler expressed concern over the situation in the state and urged the government to extend proper relief work to the affected people.

“It is very sorrowful that large tracts of paddy fields have been damaged by the flood, hundreds of villages are cut off from other parts of Odisha, thousands of people staving, and many people lost their lives,” Tytler said in a statement.

The floods have affected 14 lakh people in 19 of the 30 districts of the state. 17 people died in the floods and 11 are missing.

The situation has improved in many areas of coastal Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Khurda, Jajpur and Nayagarh districts as release of water into the sea was facilitated, officials said.

Steps have been initiated for immediate restoration of road communication to enable relief teams to reach the affected people,
they said.

At the same time, air dropping of food and other essentials continued in most of the 1,100 marooned villages in worst-hit Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara and Puri districts with the help of four helicopters.

The health department rushed medical teams to districts like Kendrapara and Puri with medicines, halogen tablets, ORS packets and
anti-venom injections, a senior official said, adding efforts were on to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.

The minister also pleaded for cancellation of the controversial Orissa
Mining Corporation (OMC)-Vedanta contract for supply of bauxite from
eco-sensitive Niyamgiri hills and resolution of raw material issues
for the Posco project.

“I have a written a letter to the Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik
to take due cognizance of the large-scale illegal mining, which not
only impacts the ecology but also leads to colossal loss of state
revenue through a series of tax evasions in the whole value chain of
the mined mineral. I have suggested him to recommend for CBI inquiry
to bring the culprits to book,” Mr Jena told this newspaper.

“Further, till the state control on major minerals is put in place,
revenue of the state can be enhanced by levying of cess over and above
the royalty on all major mined minerals in the state,” Mr Jena said in
the letter.

“The trend needs to be reversed. The long term supply contracts like
the one between the OMC and the Vedanta for bauxite supplies need to
be reviewed and cancelled forthwith in larger interest of the state.
The raw material supplies should be made available to industry only at
market linked price. In the long run, steps are required to be taken
for state control of mining resources, which will not only rectify
above anomaly but will also prevent and protect environment by way of
proper mining and planned industrialization,” Mr Jena contended.

Citing the recent rejection of Vedanta Aluminium Limited’s Lanjigarh
refinery expansion plan by the Orissa High Court for lack of proper
environment clearance, the minister said judgment established the need
for eco-friendly sustainable development.
In the letter sent to the chief minister on Friday, the minister said
the current level of royalty results in approximately 5 per cent of
annual mineral wealth coming to state in the form of royalty while the
rest 95 per cent is enjoyed by the lessee – be a trader, an
industrialist or a company. The annual royalty receipts in Orissa are
meager as compared to the enormous mining industry in Orissa.

In an earlier letter to the chief minister, the Union minister had
advocated for state control of minerals for optimal utilisation of the
resources.

Keeping in view the current expansion projects being implemented by
the company at its different units, this approval – which was obtained
on July 20, 2011, – will help the company enhance its production
capacity at the desired pace, the official added.

The Orissa government had earlier sought approval of the Union
government for the diversion of 110.3 hectares of forest land in the
first renewal of mining lease in Panchpatmali South Block for bauxite
mining, in accordance with the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
“On the basis of the state government’s compliance report, the Centre
has granted approval for diversion of 110.3 hectares of forest land in
Panchpatmali. As per the approval, the period of diversion of the said
forest land shall be for a duration co-terminus with the period of
mining lease proposed to be granted under the Mines and Minerals
(Development & Regulating) Act, 1957, or Rules framed there under,
subject to a maximum period of 20 years,” the official informed.
After consideration of the proposal by the Forest Advisory Committee
(FAC) constituted by the Central government, Stage-I (in-principle)
approval for the diversion was granted by the Union ministry of
environment and forests (MoEF). The Government of Orissa furnished
compliance report in respect of the conditions stipulated in the
in-principle approval and requested the Central Government to grant
final approval.

The company has to fulfill certain conditions laid down by the
Ministry. The company has also to take up certain measures along with
the State Government for afforestation on degraded forest land and
preparing plan to wean away the practitioners of the ecologically
destructive jhum cultivation in vicinity of the forest land being
diverted and providing funds for its implementation.

The Centre, while granting the approval, has also directed the State
Government to ensure the proper utilization of the company’s CSR fund
for peripheral development activities.