Naveen Patnaik government completed two years of its fourth term on Friday. During the period his ministerial colleagues
have earned both bouquets and brickbats. Some have courted controversies either for their acts of omission or commission
or simply for speaking indiscreetly. The Telegraph encapsulates their achievements and weaknesses, the controversies included
CABINET MINISTERS
Damodar Rout
excise and cooperation
Achievements: No hooch tragedy, major increase in excise revenue
Strength: Persuasive, good grip on bureaucracy
Weakness: Motormouth
Controversy: Criticised his own ministerial colleague, Sanjay Das Burma, on money-deposit collection scam
Budget
Excise department: Rs 76.71 crore
Co-operation: Rs 1821.73 crore
Bijayshree Routray
revenue and disaster management
Achievements: Steering legislation to recognise rights of share-croppers
Strength: Good administrator
Weakness: Extrovert and short-tempered
Controversy: Built house on land allotted to his doctor wife for setting up a clinic
Budget: Rs 5071.34 crore
Pradeep Kumar Amat
finance
Achievements: Despite financial crunch, budgetary support for major welfare programmes
Strength: Enjoys chief minister’s confidence
Weakness: Too meek to assert himself
Controversy: Imposition of VAT on pulses and petroleum products
Budget: Rs 19366.12 crore
Pradeep Maharathy
agriculture and farmers’ empowerment
Achievement: Odisha received Rashtriya Krishi Karman award for agricultural productivity
Strength: Can arm-twist opponents into submission
Weaknesses: Tendency to shoot off his mouth
Controversy: Made alleged obscene remarks against BJP MLA Radharani Panda
Budget: Rs 3438.91 crore
Bikram Keshari Arukh
forest and environment and parliamentary affairs
Achievement: Dept has finally come out with tiger census report
Strength: Emerged as top leader in south Odisha
Weakness: Fails to co-ordinate with Opposition in running the Assembly
Controversy: Contested National Tiger Conservation Authority’s census figures for Odisha
Budget
Parliamentary affairs: Rs 36.52 crore
Forest and environment: Rs 603.22 crore
Debi Prasad Mishra
Industries, school and mass education
Achievement: New industrial policy resolution, investors’ meet in Mumbai
Strength: Mature politician who weighs his words
Weakness: Failed to provide conducive atmosphere for industrial growth
Controversy: Alleged appointment of teachers through Odisha Knowledge Corporation Limited
Budget
Industries: Rs 93.27 crore
School and mass education: Rs 11,237.85 crore
Usha Devi
women and child development, social security & empowerment of persons with disability, planning and convergence
Achievement: Worked for women’s empowerment
Strength: Royal connection
Weakness: Yet to get grip on her departments
Budget
Women and child welfare: Rs 2786.60 crore
Social security & empowerment of persons with disability: Rs 1906.95 crore
Planning and convergence: Rs 817.25 crore
Jogendra Behera
micro, small and medium enterprises
Achievement: Launched Odisha MSME development policy
Strength: Hard-working
Weakness: Underdeveloped PR skills
Controversy: Raised many eyebrows when he expressed displeasure over his department not being given due importance
Budget: Rs 110.69 crore
Badri Narayan Patra
rural development
Achievement: Set up tube wells and connected rural areas with roads
Strength: Grassroots worker, understands people’s problems
Weakness: Losing grip on party cadres, failed to keep party together in his district
Controversy: Was in eye of a storm when BJD’s Keonjhar Municipality chairperson was voted out
Budget: Rs 6489.86 crore
Lal Bihari Himirika
ST and SC development, minorities and backward castes welfare
Achievement: Launch of Anwesha scheme for providing quality education to ST/ SC students
Strength: Simple and honest
Weakness: Yet to get grip on department
Controversy: Yet to take stand on the demand for 38 per cent reservation to SC and ST students in medical and engineering colleges
Budget: Rs 2837.12 crore
Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak
health and family welfare and information & public relations
Achievement: Six new medical colleges and a heath university announced. Free distribution of medicines under Niramaya scheme
Strength: Knows what to say and when
Weakness: Too non-aligned to be comfortable in a tricky situation
Controversy: Fire at Sishu Bhavan
Ashok Chandra Panda
tourism and culture
Achievements: Launch of various tourism promotion programmes
Strength: Knows how to highlight issues of his department
Weakness: Yet to learn political ropes
Controversy: Faced flak when foreign theatre group staged a play with topless scene in Bhubaneswar
Budget: Rs 242.54 crore
Sanjay Das Burma
food supplies and consumer welfare, skill development and technical education
Achievements: Scheme for direct cash transfer to farmers] accounts for paddy procurement
Strength: Good organiser
Weakness: Speaks his mind at the wrong time
Controversy: Allegedly received an SUV from a money deposit collection company
Budget
Food supplies and consumer welfare: Rs 955.56 crore
Skill development and technical education: Rs 629.70 crore
Pranab Prakash Das
energy, electronics and information technology
Achievement: No major power cuts this year
Strength: Close to chief minister
Weakness: Allows bureaucrats to have a greater say in official matters
Controversy: Faced protests over proposed power tariff hike and had to be kept on hold
Budget
Energy: Rs 2800.92 crore
Electronics and information technology: Rs 130.62 crore
Arun Sahu
Law and panchayati raj
Achievement: Completion of 10 lakh pucca houses under Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana
Strength: Good orator
Weakness: Often goes over the top trying to impress the chief minister
Controversy: Courted controversy for sleeping alongside sevayats during Nabakalebar and making uncharitable remark against leader of Opposition
Budget
Law: Rs 265.12 crore
Panchayati raj: Rs 8467.95 crore
Ramesh Chandra Majhi
commerce and transport
Achievement: Good progress in developing national waterway No. 5
Strength: Established himself as party's young tribal face
Weakness: Dependence on bureaucracy
Controversy: Repeated bus fare hikes
Budget
Commerce: Rs 80.34 crore
Transport: Rs 383.83 crore
Pradeep Panigrahi
higher education and science & technology
Achievements: Conducted Plus Two examinations despite teachers strike
Strength: Confidant of chief minister with both hailing from Ganjam district
Weakness: Yet to get grip on department
Controversy: Failed to revive defunct Odia chairs in various universities. Also failed to establish state's claim to rasgulla being its original product
Budget
Higher education: Rs 2193 crore
Science & technology: Rs 61.47 crore
Shehangini Chhuria
handlooms, handicraft and textiles
Achievement: Supporting Odia craftsmen
Strength: Emerging BJD star from west Odisha
Weakness: Still a greenhorn in administrative matters
Controversy: A farmer from Bargarh alleged that he was kidnapped and kept confined in her house
Budget: Rs 217.82 crore
Puspendra Singh Deo
housing and urban development
Achievement: Big role in setting up task force to probe the discretionary quota scandal
Strength: Not afraid of taking on opponents
Weakness: Often fails to execute well-laid plans
Controversy: Issuing notices to powerful persons, including his ministerial colleagues, in the discretionary quota scandal
Budget: Rs 3364.10 crore
Sudam Marandi
sports and youth services
Achievement: Organising major sports events
Strength: Popular in tribal belts of Mayurbhanj and Sundargarh
Weakness: Not a good planner
Controversy: Daughter’s marriage to a non-tribal
Budget: Rs 85.66 crore
Prafulla Kumar Mallick
steel and mines, labour & employees state insurance
Achievements: Promulgation of Odisha Mineral Exploration Policy, housing schemes for labourers
Strength: Simplicity
Weakness: Complete dependence on bureaucracy
Controversy: A senior Congress leader had accused him of being involved in illegal transport of minerals
Budget
Steel and mines: Rs 84.86 crore
Labour & Employees State Insurance: Rs 98.65 crore
Compiled by Subrat Das and Subhashish Mohanty
SMILE FOR COMMON MAN, BUT INDUSTRIES HIT HARD
The Telegraph speaks to people from various backgrounds about the highs and lows of Naveen’s governance in the past two years
The government has rolled out a number of schemes for women. This is one of his biggest achievements.
That apart, making Bhubaneswar the topper in the smart city list is another accomplishment. Naveen has this ability to handle every situation in a calm and composed manner. I would expect him to come out with a film policy, so that the number of issues that the industry is grappling with gets sorted. Also, young film-makers should be encouraged more through funding
Anu Choudhury, actress
Working with rural people, I can say that things are improving. Roads are being constructed and people
are getting the benefits of a number of welfare schemes. But, instead of supporting lifestyle, the focus should be on
promoting workmanship so that their way of life gets developed automatically. There is also a need for a single-window clearance for entrepreneurs where they can approach directly for investments instead of running
around the mill
Supreety Mishra, entrepreneur
The government is providing a lot of help to schoolchildren. There are model schools and special education packages for
tribal students. They are getting scholarships, free textbooks and hostel facilities. When we were in school in the 1990s, such facilities were not there. But, the problem of unemployment still persists. There are almost no opportunities for graduates hailing from rural areas. Also, there are no scholarships for students who want to study abroad
Prachi Sonalika Pattanaik, postgraduate student of public administration
Most of Naveen’s schemes are focused on the poor people and are aimed to bring about a change in their lifestyle. It is good that instead of putting stress on industrialisation, he has worked on promoting advanced agricultural practices among farmers along with working for the benefit of senior citizens. His father Biju babu had been more interested in
industrialisation, while Naveen is working more for the common man. Unfortunately, nothing has been done yet to promote the Odia language. The centre of excellence is yet to be set up and many initiatives need to be taken to promote research in the language
Bibhuti Patnaik, writer
Industrialisation has taken a setback during Naveen Patnaik’s governance. Power plants are in problem and new
industries have stopped venturing into the state. This has affected Odisha’s economic growth. Ease of doing business has decreased. The government has initiated a number of schemes for the farmers, the artistes, the senior
citizens and others. But, middle-level officers are not being able to implement policies
Ramesh Mahapatra, Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry president
Naveen may not be an impressive speaker but his impact on the people is huge. Moreover, he is hardly into any kind of controversies. A number of universities have come up and we are host to a number of national-level institutes as well. But, there are certain problems, such as lack of teaching employees, which need to be addressed. I also feel that the retirement age of university teachers should be extended to 65 years
Brahmananda Satapathy, Utkal University’s political science department head
Naveen is a popular leader and the credit for this goes mostly to his father. Naveen has come up with many schemes, but not all of them are serving any purpose. In tourism, we are still stuck to the Puri-Konark-Bhubaneswar region. But we have huge potentials in tribal and wildlife tourism. The need of the hour is to bring innovationin promoting tourism
instead of visiting international fairs and conducting road shows
Anant Basudev, tour company Trip4fun founder
Being a chief minister who is in his fourth term, I feel Naveen has not done much for the state except for churning out outwardly attractive schemes. He is winning elections after elections only because the Opposition is weak. He has miserably failed to promote the popular Nabakalebar festival. In the southern part of the country where I now live, most people were not even aware that such a festival was held. However, he did his best in relief and rescue operations during cyclones Hudhud and Phailin
Gyanendra Panda, senior test lead at an IT firm in Bangalore
Compiled by Anwesha Ambaly
