Post baking a cake after rolling out a historic stock worth Rs 9.73k Crore to Odisha in the Railway Budget 2022-23, a confident-looking Ashwini Vaishnaw bowled a few political googlies at the saffron party's political rivals in his conversation with the local media on Thursday.
Even as the suave Minister picks up the ever-increasing budgetary allocation to the State since 2014 to highlight BJP and PM Narendra Modi's 'Look East' policy or say 'Purvodaya', by comparing the allocation during Congress-led UPA tenure from 2009-14 to Modi-led NDA from 2014 -2022, his three worded line 'coastline is goldmine' delivers a massive political punch to CM Naveen Patnaik-led ruling BJD.
"PM Narendra Modi during his stint as CM in Gujarat had developed 30 ports. Odisha's coastline is almost in equal length to that of the western coastal state. Ports are the hubs of economic activities all over the world," said Vaishnaw
Odisha Ports - A Reality Check
In fact, the coastline of Odisha measures a length of 480 km, whereas the coastline of Gujarat extends to a length of 1600km.
As per the data available with State Commerce and Transport Department, Odisha has only 3 operational ports - Paradeep, Dhamara and Gopalpur. However, the State government has identified 11 other potential sites that can be strategically developed as ports in the State.
Port Density: A look at the port density shows that (if all 14 ports are taken into account) the State has around 3 ports per 100 km coastline.
However, a look at the statistics of cargo handling reveals that Odisha has handled cargo of around 22-23 Million Tonnes (MT) till the end of March 2019. The cargo traffic was greatly affected due to pandemics thereafter.
Gujarat
The western state has around 46 ports. As per Rail Min Ashwini Vaishnav, during the tenure of Narendra Modi as CM, the state saw 30 new ports.
A look at the port density shows Gujarat too had around 3 ports per 100 km of coastline.
However, when it comes to cargo handling, the BJP-ruled state had registered cargo traffic to the tune of around 400 MT. The cargo shipments in Gujarat are petroleum oil (POL), coal, Building materials, fertilisers, iron ore etc.
Port Employment Potential
When an estimate shows handling 1MT cargo in ports generate employment for 17 people (direct and indirect), the annual traffic of cargo in Gujarat and Odisha explains the job potential of ports in the western state.
Odisha Vs Andhra Pradesh
The southern neighbour of Odisha has 12 ports. And the coastline of the State is measured at around 972 km. The port density of Andhra Pradesh is 1.2 per 100 km. But the cargo traffic in Andhra Pradesh has been in the range of 122 MT as against 23 MT in Odisha in 2018-19.
Why The Gap?
The gap in cargo traffic between Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat reveals that the ports in Odisha are not well developed and equipped like that in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. In order to realise the potential, Odisha has to go for increased investment for the infra sector and also has to roll out a policy to attract investors to operate the ports in the private sector.
Vaishnav Spin
As the saying goes, "Nothing happens in politics by accident. If it happens it was planned that way", the Railway Minister, who happens to be a Rajya Sabha MP from the State and has recently toured the State during BJP's Jan Ashirvad Yatra, by comparing the functional ports in Odisha and Gujarat, has been hinting at the job creation potential of the sector, especially when the Economic Survey 2021-22 tabled recently in Parliament hinted at second-highest unemployment rate in Odisha
Besides, the Minister has very innocuously maintained that the delay in rail projects in Odisha is due to hurdles like land acquisition and forest approval - which are under the State government's control.
"We go by PM Modi's Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas. BJP's prayas is 100 percent," quipped the Minister.
Moreover, his statement "Modiji developed 30 ports in Gujarat during his 10-year stint as Gujarat CM" is being seen as a political arrow aimed at CM Naveen Patnaik who has been at the helm in Odisha for over double the term but the State is languishing with only 3 functional ports.
Also, Rail Minister's assertion that on PM Modi's direction the rail allocation to Odisha has been on the ascent hints at the Prime Minister's grip on Odisha's need.
As per political observers, the spin here is BJP's strategy over the years has been wherever the party lacks a regional face, the saffron party jumps into the fray with the face of PM Modi.
"This has been tried and tested in Maharashtra, Jharkhand and UP. But UP stands in a different league as PM Modi has been an MP from Varanasi. However, the strategy had yielded dividends in Maharashtra and Jharkhand," said an observer.