The much awaited Kadma-Sonari stretch of the marine drive linking Adityapur toll-bridge with Mango has again started facing hiccups before the final completion of the project.

According to information, some of the slum dwellers have refused to shift from the under-constructed project area to a new location which has been provided by Tata Steel.

The shifting of the slum dwellers from Rupnagar along the marine drive project area has met with hurdles, as some local politicians lured the basti dwellers with false promises, for a better package from the district administration.

A senior official of Tata Steel’s logistics department informed that the slum dwellers who agreed to shift from Rupnagar basti along the under-constructed marine drive have stopped this morning from shifting, after a section of local politicians enticed them.

Sources said that those settled at Rupnagar in an unauthorised manner will be provided with a small plot of land for building their houses. They will receive flats in Devnagar during the construction of Kadma-Sonari stretch.

Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee as part of Rajiv Awas Yojna is working on the project. Tata Steel has put the district administration under pressure to remove encroachments from these settlements.

The housing project has two bedrooms flats, a hall, a kitchen. The two-storey and three-storey buildings will be built for the effected families. In addition, community centre and other amenities will be there at colony. At Devnagar 441 flats for1230 families are being prepared. The flat project is worth Rs 21 crore.

 Notably, the nine-kilometres-long marine drive is being set up to keep the steel city free from the movement of heavy vehicles from inside the city. The Rs 120 crores worth project which comes under the Tata Steel’s Western Corridor Project was started in June 2012 and was scheduled to be end by June 2014.  But due to the encroachment hurdle along Kadma side, the work was suspended at the side where there was encroachment.

It may be mentioned that in view of the expansion plans of Tata Steel and other Tata Group companies in Jamshedpur, Tata Steel limited had engaged reputed Consultant M/s l&T Rambole and M/s Consulting Engineering Services of Delhi to do a transport study of Jamshedpur.

East Singhbhum deputy commissioner, Amitabh Kaushal said that the administration is ready to provide necessary support for removing the encroachment from along the marine-drive project provided that the Tata Steel start the project on high speed.