HOT SEAT

Pradeep Kumar Jena,
Secretary, panchayati raj and IT departments, and chairman-cum-managing director of Idco

You head the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco). Do you agree that Idco has failed to achieve its basic objective of infrastructure development?

So far, we have not been very successful in acquiring land for industries. However, the new rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) policy talks of negotiation and settlement. You cannot go for a conventional land acquisition process now onwards. It is impractical to expect people to give away their land to the government at a price proposed by the latter.

So what have you advised your land acquisition officers at Idco?

We have to be more flexible. We cannot take their land by offering them a compensation package not matching the market rate. When people are sacrificing their land for the government or a private company to make profits, why shouldn’t they be a part of that profit-generating process?

What steps are you planning to take for industrial promotion?

As far as acquiring land is concerned, we have to be a bit more aggressive in changing our approach and reaching out to people. You cannot adopt an uniform approach for every project or village. Industries also should not to be rigid about rules and regulations. Villagers also have their own aspirations. It is necessary to strike a balance between the two so that an unpleasant situation is not created.

Do you feel that the government has been rigid in its approach towards acquiring land?

We have to create successful models so that people can say they have benefited from a particular project. It is not fair that the industrial houses reap the benefits and the people are left in the lurch.

You have handled a major hydro-irrigation project — Indravati Water Project — in the past. But these days, it is seen that the administration is unable to acquire land for small projects.

An administrator has to be emotionally involved with the people. You cannot go to a village with the idea that you are going to displace the local residents and start working on some project; you must be willing to talk to them and understand their problems.

Do you feel the NREGS work across the state has been affected due to the ongoing CBI inquiry?

The expenditure flow to the NREGS work has been hampered and the officers at the field level have been demoralised by the inquiry. The flood last year and the panchayat polls are other reasons for the work being affected.

In the 90s, we were competing with cities such as Hyderabad in the IT sector. But within a span of 10 to 15 years, we seem to be lagging behind.

I agree with you. The biggest disadvantage is that Odisha lacks an international airport. Secondly, until 2004, we didn’t invest in the IT preparedness in the government like Andhra Pradesh did. It could have generated some demands from within the state. Plus, we don’t have adequate social infrastructure like shopping malls, multiplexes, state-of-the-art educational and health facilities for IT professionals.

Despite government adopting a pro-policy for the IT sector, why didn’t the big companies show willingness to come to Odisha?

In 2008, when the IT sector was hit by recession, one company called MindTree Solutions owned by an Odia was interested to set shop in the state. However, at that time, the government committed a mistake. It was unable to provide land to the homegrown company. This sent a wrong message to the outside world. But now, it has been rectified. Many companies have now shown interest in coming to Odisha.

You are heading two departments and a corporation. Have you been able to do justice to all three?

I cannot say that I am giving my 100 per cent to all the three. An independent secretary should ideally be there in each department. I have to work extra hours but my colleagues have been extremely supportive. It all depends on how you manage and supervise the work.

It is a public perception that bureaucrats are dominating the ministers of their departments. What is your view?

So far, I have not faced anything of this sort. There is a clear-cut delegation of power. None can overstep the boundaries. The minister takes the ultimate decision and we are required to implement it.

Do you feel that the present day administrators lack zeal and commitment towards work?

The collectors of today are not devoting as much time and interest to rural development as is required from them. And that is because they are preoccupied with a number of things. There are a few exceptions, of course. There are some who are doing brilliant work. But overall, the zeal seems to have declined.

People’s person

• Known for his pro-people approach, Pradeep Kumar Jena is the one of the better-known senior bureaucrats of the state. He heads the Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and is also the secretary of the state departments of panchayati raj and information technology.

• After completing ISC from the BJB College, Bhubaneswar, Jena did his graduation in geology from DD College, Keonjhar, and post graduation from the Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. He was the gold-medallist of his batch.

• Having worked as a geologist with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for about a year, Jena cleared the civil service examination in his second attempt and started his career as a sub-collector at Dharmagarh in Kalahandi district and then became the collector of Kendrapara district in 1995-96, Kalahandi in 1996-98 and Cuttack in 1999-2000.

• Before joining as the assistant country director of United Nations Development Programme in 2005, he had occupied various posts in the government including director of horticulture and agriculture.

• As secretary of state energy department, Jena played a key role in the signing of a number of MoUs with reputed private companies in the power sector. To his credit, he wrote articles on Resettlement and Rehabilitation, ‘Value Added Tax: Nothing panicky about it’ and ‘The Kalahandi Question’.

What would you have been had you not been an IAS officer?

I was a geologist and would have continued as one had I not cleared the IAS exam. When I was young, I did not know what IAS meant. I was considered a good student and everyone expected me to become an engineer. However, I did not do very well in the engineering entrance exam and, so, pursued geology. While doing my M.Tech at IIT Kharagpur, I was attracted towards IAS and decided to appear for the test. Meanwhile, I got a job with the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and worked there for a year before qualifying for the IAS in my second attempt.