Bhubaneswar, May 20: When a year ago, Naveen Patnaik picked his team for his fourth term as the chief minister, he wanted a balance of the old and the new. The performance and role of the minister in the past one year shows that the power equations have changed swiftly.
The young ministers, including newcomers, have emerged powerful, while the old guards have been marginalised. The emergence of young ministers in the new dispensation has pushed the veterans to the wings, but they prefer to keep quiet. The ministers who hog the limelight are Bikram Keshari Arukh (parliamentary affairs), Arun Kumar Sahoo (law), Ashok Panda (culture), Pranab Prakash Das (energy) and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak (health). Excepting for Arukh, all others enjoy the rank of ministers of state with independent portfolios and report directly to the chief minister.
Parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Arukh, who hails from Naveen's home district Ganjam, has quietly emerged as the key personality over the last one year. His ascendancy has led to the marginalisation of many party veterans. Notwithstanding his seniority, he is often heard replying on behalf of the chief minister in the Assembly on major issues. In the party and the government, he is considered as Naveen's alter ego.
The other minister to have emerged powerful is first-timer Arun Sahu, who handles the important portfolio of law. Despite last year's rath yatra controversy, he has managed to enjoy the trust of Naveen.
Health minister Atanu Sabyascahi Nayak, who had defeated Naveen's bete noire and BJP leader Bijoy Mohapatra, continues to enjoy the confidence of the chief minister. He holds two important portfolios - health & family welfare and information & public relations. He remained in the limelight as the Naveen government had been focusing on health care and announcing one scheme after another. He is considered to be one of the ministers who is firmly in the saddle. Nothing moves in the departments without his consent.
Journalist-turned-politician, tourism and culture minister, Ashok Chandra Panda, known for his proximity with the chief minister for a long time now, has emerged as a key figure in Naveen's council of ministers. The first time minister has managed to silence his critics in the party and has proven to be one of the most efficient ministers. Aware of Naveen's soft corner for culture and tourism, Panda has managed to make the right moves to be on the right side of the chief minister. "It's the people who are powerful. I am working hard and have introduced a number of schemes to promote tourism and culture in the state. The one-year journey has been full of challenges."
Another first timer Pranab Prakash Das, minister of state for energy and IT, has emerged as one of the most powerful politicians from the politically sensitive Jajpur district. Circumstances have helped Das to become a key figure in Naveen's coterie. He has filled the vacuum created by Rajya Sabha MP Kalapataru Das and former finance minister Prafulla Ghadei. Das, who had called the shots in the party before the last general elections, was eased out of the Naveen's core group after the CAG report pointed out that the MP's family members had managed to corner more than one house in the city through the discretionary quota. Veteran leader Ghadei was thrown out of the party for his outbursts against the leadership.
As the junior ministers rise to positions eminence and authority, senior leaders such as Damodar Rout, Pradeep Maharathy, Badri Narayan Patra and Bijoyshree Routray are less heard and seen in public.
FAILURES
Jaundice outbreak
Government has failed to check the spread of jaundice in urban areas, particularly in Sambalpur. Around 50 people have already lost their lives and over a thousand people affected across the state. Fresh cases are being reported from Balangir, where three people have died. The failure of the government has come under the scanner of Orissa High Court.
Potato crisis
Potato disappeared from the menu several times during the year. The price of a kilo of potato, which usually varied between Rs 8 and Rs 12, went beyond Rs 40 twice in the last one year. There was a stand off between the governments of Bengal and Odisha on the issue. The state government’s potato mission encouraged farmers to grow the crop. But, when it arrived in February, the state witnessed a distress sale with the price dropping to Rs 2 for lack of cold stores.
Nabakalebar deadline
The grand event is expected to have a footfall of nearly 50 lakh. The event will culminate in July. According to the government, everything was to be in place by March 31. However, a reality check by government agencies has revealed that it would be difficult to achieve the deadline. All its projects pertaining to drainage, sewerage and state roads are half complete.
Industrialisation hurdle
No big-ticket project could take off. The South Korean steel giant Posco seemed to have developed a cold feet. There are indications that it might withdraw from the project. While the government is seeking payment from the company for acquiring and developing the land, Posco has sought details of its money given to the government for its project.
Deposit collection scam
The state government faced embarrassment after BJD Lok Sabha MP from Mayurbhanj Ramachandra Hansda and Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy were arrested by the CBI for their alleged involvement in the deposit collection scam. A member of the chief minister's household staff had also been quizzed. The advocate-general stepped down from the office and is facing an
inquiry.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Aahar Yojana
In a bid to woo the urban poor, the state government started the cheap food scheme Aahar. Rice and dalma (a popular dish made of dal and vegetables) is available at Rs 5 per plate in urban areas. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik launched the scheme in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela on April 1. The scheme is run in five cities - Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, Sambalpur and Rourkela.
Biju Expressway
The Rs 3,200-crore Biju Expressway, a 650km Jagdalpur-Rourkela corridor that will connect southern parts of the state with west Odisha, was launched on August 28 last year. The road project will connect four western districts —- Bargarh, Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, and Sundargarh — with Koraput, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi and Nuapada in the Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi region. The first phase of the project is expected to be over by May 2017, and the entire project by May 2020.
Niramaya scheme
The state government has started its free medicine distribution scheme — Niramaya — from May 1 with chief minister Naveen Patnaik launching it at Capital Hospital. The scheme is being implemented in all the 30 district headquarters hospitals, three government-run medical colleges and hospitals in the state and the Capital Hospital in the first phase. Later it will be extended to all community and primary health centres.
Mukhya Mantri Sadak Yojana
With focus on “bijli, sadak, pani”, the BJD government launched a road connectivity scheme — Mukhyamantri Sadak Yojana — in 2014-15 on the lines of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The scheme promises road links to villages having a minimum population of 100 and those left out under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana
The state government has launched a Rs 3,000-crore scheme in September to convert all mud and thatched houses into concrete structures. The existing 'Mo Kudia' scheme has been merged with the new scheme named as Biju Pucca Ghar Yojana. The government seeks to construct five lakh concrete houses this year.
HOW FARES NAVEEN
Pratibha Satpathy
Author
5/10
“The deposit collection scam has made corruption visible in this government. Not that we had corruption-free governments in the past, but these scams are just going too far. Also, Naveen’s populist schemes such as Aahar and Re 1 per kg rice will make Odias lazy. We also expect him to speak his father’s tongue by now, though I’m sure he knows it well now but does not use it.”
Anu Choudhury
Actress
10/10
“Naveen babu is an able administrator and has made his way into people’s hearts. He has earned respect for his schemes for the poor. I personally admire his dignified personality.”
Nalinikant Panda
Engineering student
7/10
“Naveen Patnaik scores on his inclination to implement technology into governance. But it’s also a let down to see technical institutes deteriorate and campus placements decrease.”
Pritam Panda
Fashion designer
8.5/10
“The handloom sector as well as fashion sector have been given some importance this year. Especially, the plan to have incubation centres for upcoming fashion entrepreneurs is a big boost to this field.”
Bijoy Mohapatra
Senior BJP leader
2/10
“I will give him two marks only because he has been winning the mandate of people.”
Lipsa Das
Corporate employee
8/10
“I love the way Bhubaneswar is growing. The state highways and connectivity between various districts is improving. Agreed that there are scams, but for an average middle class person the government has fared well.”
Piyush Ranjan Rout
Urban development expert
6/10
“He has done exceedingly well in taking forward pro-poor measures. He must take steps for the overall development of the state.”
PL Kandoi
President, Kalinga Nagar Industries Association
“It won’t be proper for me to rate him. But his government is not serious to give a boost to the industrialisation of the state.”
Narasingha Mishra
Leader of Opposition
3/10
“Taking his popularity into account, I can give three marks. On the development front, he is quite dreadful.”
Janardan Pati
CPM leader
3/10
“I give him three marks because he has withstood pressure from the BJP led Government at the Centre. Unlike the AIDMK, he has not surrendered before the BJP.”
Prasad Harichandan
Odisha Pradesh Congress president
2/10
“He does not deserve even two marks, as he has totally failed in all sectors of development.”
CONTROVERSIES
Discretionary quota
The accountant-general’s report said that powerful and influential people had managed to use the discretionary quota system of the state government to acquire landed property in prime areas of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The list of beneficiaries — mostly politicians, bureaucrats and media persons — read too long and embarrassed the Naveen Patnaik government. (The Telegraph was the first to carry the report). The state government appointed IAS officer Taradatt to examine it. Taradatt recommended the cancellation of all the allotments made through the discretionary quota between 1995 and 2014. Taradatt was subsequently shifted.
Maharathy vs Radharani
In the Assembly, agriculture minister Pradeep Maharathy, allegedly made vulgar remarks to a woman member of the BJP. This led to disruption of Assembly proceedings and the BJP took to the streets. Maharathy, however, tendered an apology and bought peace with the woman legislator Radharani Panda.
Ghadei goes
Once a trusted lieutenant of Naveen and former finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadei was denied a BJD ticket in the 2014 Assembly elections. An astute politician that Naveen is, he shifted Ghadei’s son Priti Ranjan to his father’s seat and denied Prafulla the party ticket. Angry senior Ghadei in an interview to a vernacular daily attacked the coterie around Naveen and also questioned the CM’s ability to run the state. He was promptly shown the door.
Itishree Pradhan case
The murder of a 27-year-old schoolteacher, Itishree Pradhan, a victim of sexual harassment, rocked the state in 2013. In her dying declaration, she blamed the administration and named powerful politicians and officials for the incident. A casual probe by the district administration revealed that she had made a number of petitions to the authorities and there was laxity on the part of the government. The incident hogged limelight after the Supreme Court took up the case last year and asked the CBI to probe into it.
IIM blame game
The site selection for the proposed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) continues to haunt the state government. The BJP made it a prestige issue after the government wanted the institute on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The BJP wants the institute in Sambalpur.
A BJP delegation met the Union HRD minister Smriti Irani demanding the IIM in west Odisha. Following a letter from her, the state government made a U-turn and threw the ball back to the Centre’s court saying that it had no objection if the central government changed its guidelines to locate the institute in Sambalpur.
Compiled by Subhashish Mohanty
