Frightening Utopia

D.N.Singh

Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has by now mastered an uncanny knack of springing surprises from time to time. Just when every one thought that the last January incident at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district of Orissa had dampened the industrial appetite of Patnaik, he has gone ahead and signed MOUs after MOUs. Notwithstanding the state of affairs in the sectors like education, health and agriculture, Patnaik seems to be in a hurry to realise the dreams of industrialisation. Before the ink dries on one MOU, he readies for another. Irrespective of the rationale behind the speed and the intervals between the MOUs and the projects, Patnaik in last four years has signed 43 MOUs in the steel sector and on Sept 20 this year, his government has given the final nod for the signing of eleven more MOUs for the energy sector and four more yet again for the steel sector. This takes his score to a whopping 58 MOUs till the end of September this year. For Naveen there seems to be no break from his fascination for steel and for the rudderless opposition here, no let up to its worries. As it is, the Congress in Orissa is passing through a very divisive phase and all that it is doing, is to hold media conferences now and then to fire a few salvos at Naveen's over-populist announcements through its octogenarian opposition leader J.B.Patnaik, a man who by now should have opted for a graceful exit from active politics. Experts in the field of mines are not able to digest the reality that Naveen Patnaik refuses to see. It is just like, they maintain, chasing a chimera that while the state's mineral deposit is facing fast depletion due to unbriddled exploitation. With over 47 fresh investors in the steel sector, the residual deposit would never cater to the requirement. Not even half of the need. There are companies, although domestic ones, exploiting the iron and chromite mines for decades against any tangible value addition. And there are dozens in the waiting those who commonly need grants of captive mines lease as a precondition for their proposed projects, including FDIs. Everyone wants to export ores to other countries for a cheap royalty to the state. Of the total iron ore deposits of about 150,000 million tonnes in the world, India has 13,400 million. Whereas Orissa has a deposit of about 9,900 million tonnes of iron ore, it would be unrealistic and dangerous to exploit more than 3200 tonnes. Interestingly, of the permissible ore for exploitation, two thirds have been leased out already. That leaves Orissa with an estimated deposit of about 1,200 million tonnes of iron ore for exploitation. In that case what would happen to the 47 prospective new investors in the steel sector? In addition, out of total 104 sponge iron units in India, Orissa has 40 units and 14 units are in the pipeline, which would require nothing less than 40 million tonnes iron ore every year. Naveen Patnaik cannot silence his critics who clamour that, 'in the name of MOUs this govt is just making financial and political capital' . Political analysts go a step ahead- 'money from the mines is not only the mainstay of Orissa politics today but Orissa has become a virtual grazing ground for outsiders for cheap labour and an everwilling and corrupt political system to lease out anything for a good barter '. Should we in that case, construe that a day would come, say after about 20 years or so, when posterity would be amused to see iron ore in the museums only?