Being Chief Minister of Odisha, of course, stutters the thought of changing the whole system

in a day, going by the Anil Kapoor way in 'Nayak',but, can ever this ultra-rigid system of

governance, power-hungry politicians and caste ridden political play ever allow that 'Nayak'

magic?

Odisha, as one gets to hear about, suddenly, it is poor, hungry tribals or some horrific gun

carrying naxalites that pops into our mental faculty, isn't it the very perception of Odisha that

makes it prone to under-privileged status.

Had Odisha been some other state which plays major political equations at the Centre, it

would have been difficult to arrest such a vibrant state's progress.

I believe that it is not the problems that have created such perceptions rather it is the

perceptions that have kept these problems so deep rooted till now. So, changing the

perception towards the problems becomes the very first and a major step.

"Naxalism", as mentioned by our PM Dr Singh, “remains the single biggest threat to the

national security” and also one of the most proclaimed problems of the state. I have tried to

describe its persistent cause and practical solutions in the next topic.

After Naxalism, the most inherent and endemic problem is Malnourishment and Poverty.

In spite of surplus food availability, food insecurity is chronic.

It is all so ironical!!

Being major producer of grains, but, not having enough to feed themselves, having maximum

no. of schemes on paper to reduce malnutrition but to no avail, having average recommended

iron intake but still having maximum cases of anemia, having 58% of rural households with

PDS access, but, still dying of hunger, everything goes so well coordinated, isn't it?

Because of roping in private manufacturers for supply of nutritious food to beneficiaries under

various state sponsored feeding programs, things have become hell.

School students, children, pregnant and nursing mothers coming under midday meal (MDM)

are provided with mould-grown and substandard pulses.

Recent unearthing of Pulses Scam has put strong evidence against roping in private players for

so-called noble cause. They can be rightly called the “Merchants of Death”.

PDS by itself cannot provide adequate food security to the poor. Improvement in the incomes

of the poor through a broad-based agricultural growth strategy needs to be put in the system.

Secondly, instead of handing over the PDS rights to private players, they should be

decentralized at village level and the rights of distribution should be handed over to the

villagers. There could be a selection mechanism in place to choose villagers for running the

distribution system.

Thirdly, it is not possible to eradicate this severe problem until we improve the nutritional

value of the distributed grains. Staple food, mainly being rice, has to be of improved quality.

Finally, it is quite important to emphasize on the malnourishment as a problem which is a

"vicious cycle" that one cannot break away from. A malnourished girl would give birth to low

weight and deficient pre-natal growth of the baby, which shall result in a malnourished child

who shall again continue this legacy.

The incentives must cover the entire life cycle of women and children to create and

immediate impact with in one generation on the nutritional status of the three critical links of

malnutrition, namely, children, adolescent girls, and women.

Only then can the benefits be sustainable enough to break the inter-generational cycle, and be

passed on the next generation. I believe that once someone is heeded with basic

requirements of food, he/she can concentrate on uplifting their social role and status.

That’s the key to bring poverty under control.

I would like to ventilate the illegal mining of huge loads of natural resources that have been

bestowed to this coastal state.

Lakhs of crores of rupees worth of minerals have been illegally siphoned out from the state.

Yet the state government seems to be in a state of stupor.

You cannot think of rackets of such magnitude thriving without the support from the

politicians and the bureaucrats. Everyone is neck-deep involved. And if someone is not then,

he has to suffer the virulent rage of our official leaders.

As, I had already mentioned about political equations of the state matters less at the central

stage, there has never been a question of getting an independent CBI probe into the matter.

So, the question arises, who is to bring control and regulations on these mines? For sure, a

government body can never prove such case unbiased. So, there is a dire need to bring in an

independent body of auditors. In recent past, we have witnessed that independence leased

out to the CAG at Centre had effectively challenged the government time and again.

There is an impromptu need to construct a body, in Kejriwal's terms, an independent

Lokayukta, to probe every such govt. departments which have influence on economic

resources.

Thirdly, this could again prove either as a trump card or a benign measure. Tracking of

vehicles. It is based on the method used in Singapore, one of the most corruption-free nations

in the world. Those vehicles which leave mining areas need to be brought under supervision.

This could prove as a measure not only to break the nexus between all those involved, but

reduce trafficking of all goods, be it related to mining or not. There needs to be brought in a

new system of awards and grants to those who bring in maximum no. of irregularities in

notice and replacement of those who never put in any effort to showcase irregularities.

Finally, I would like to mention that until and unless an independent body is dragged in and

equipped with latest technologies, it shall not be possible to stop corruption-related activities.

Be it Naxalism, or the natural disasters the state is prone to, or the friction involved in getting

clearances for large-scale projects such as that of Posco, Vedanta, that are on hold, the

investment unfriendly climate makes the already, debt-ridden economy of Odisha more

vulnerable.

The strong potential that it carries as eco-tourism, spiritual tourism, and beach tourism

remains unmatched.

Firstly, there is need to rope in ambassadors to promote Odisha as a treasure of global

heritage. Then, multiplying the efforts to maintain the heritage sites of Chilika, Konark and

Puri have to be stepped up. Once there is proper connectivity, channeling and comfortable

lodging facilities, for sure, the natural beauty that has remained unexplored shall unleash its

splendor worldwide.

Rise of major river water disputes has been the constant headache. Recently Chhattisgarh has

started a construction near the place of intersection of Indravati and Bhaskel Rivers posing a

threat of submergence to 22 villages of Nawrangpur district in Orissa. Earlier, the construction

of barrage on Vamsadhara River by Andhra Pradesh govt. had also led to the submergence of

around 200 hectares of land in Orissa.

Why can these river disputes be settled by tribunal, the way, Narmada river dispute was

amicably solved? With proper channeling of river waters and divergence of river waters using

technological expertise, avoiding water logging in some regions or, water scarcity in some,

keeping in mind the holistic good of the commons, this cat-fight has to be brought to end.

Power related issues do confront this energy rich state, just because of creeping in of

irregularities and corruption in the system.

I believe that such a resource-rich and heritage-laden state has long, long miles to go and

realize the deep intricacies and potential to its fullest.