Surplus cash to boost development The state government is hopeful that surplus funds at the disposal of its public sector units could help carry out various developmental projects in Odisha. “The state has a surplus of around Rs 5,668.18 crore with its public sector units. Plans have been chalked out to carry out various projects with the surplus money,” public enterprise and finance minister Prasanna Acharya said. Topping the list of such public sector units is Odisha Mining Corporation with surplus funds to the tune of Rs 4,076.37 crore. Chairman-cum-managing director of the mining corporation Saswat Mishra said: “Sizeable funds are lying idle with us. We want to put it to good use. If the state government uses it for infrastructure development, we will be happy.” “We are ready to be part of any joint venture with the state government if a proposal comes,” he said. The mining corporation has already given a Rs 500crore loan to Grid Corporation of Odisha (Gridco) to improve the power situation in the state. “The surplus money will be utilised to introduce new projects,” said a mining corporation official. Efforts of the mining corporation were appreciated by a World Bank team last week at a meeting chaired by the chief secretary. The public sector unit is also financing a number of developmental projects, said officials. It has already funded the state government’s blanket scheme for the old, destitute, physically challenged and widows and the free bicycle scheme for Class X girls. Other public sector units that have surplus funds are Odisha Power Generation Corporation, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco), Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited, Odisha Tourism Development Corporation, Odisha State Cashew Development Corporation, Odisha State Financial Corporation, Odisha State Transport Corporation Limited, Odisha State Ware Housing Corporation and Odisha State Seeds Corporation. Odisha Power Generation Corporation, which is next to the mining corporation in terms of surplus funds, has Rs 866.9 crore. It plans to utilise this for expansion of the third and fourth unit of the Ib power project in Jharsuguda district. Idco, which has Rs 599 crore at its disposal, has also decided to use the money to set up a common 143km coal corridor in the Talcher Coalfield area. This corridor can be used exclusively for industrial purposes and will be developed by Brahmani Railway. It would be able to handle 138 million tonnes of coal per annum and cater to the requirements of all blocks in the Talcher-Angul coalfield areas. “Once the corridor is activated, nearly 22 power plants, 23 steel plants and 10 other industries will be benefited,” an official said. To promote IT industries in the state, the government has also planned to use the funds from Idco to set up an IT Incubation Centre at Infocity and a corporate tower at Mancheswar in Bhubaneswar. Plans to set up a plastic park in Paradip are also on. The state, which is witnessing frequent wastage of food grains, has also decided to set up a number of godowns with the surplus funds of Rs 24.3 crore from the Odisha State Warehousing Corporation. With its surplus funds to the tune of Rs 46.39 crore, Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited plans to improve infrastructure in the power sector.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Sep 2013 04:35:26 +0000
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