The Dhenkanal Development Council (DDC) on Monday demanded early completion of four-laning of the 98-km Duburi-Talcher section of National Highway-200 which has been hanging fire since 2007.
Briefing mediapersons here, DDC convenor Raja Narayan Tripathy said the Union Cabinet Committee has given its approval for the development of four-laning of 137-km Chandikhole-Duburi-Talcher Section of NH-200 under the National Highways Development Programme (MHDP) Phase III A on Built Operator Transfer (BOT) basis in 2007 and the same was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 2011, but nothing tangible has happened as yet.
“Undivided Dhenkanal district has explored around 538.60 lakh MT of coal worth Rs 2,833 crore in the financial year 2011-12 which comes more than 50 per cent of the coal produced in the State and more than 10 per cent of the coal produced in the country,” said Tripathy, adding that widening of the stretch as it directly connects Nalco, Talcher collieries and Talcher Fertiliser Plant passes through the Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex and also Paradip port with mineral rich Keonjhar district.
“Hence, we urge the Union Government either to take up the project by inviting tender on annuity basis or Engineering Procurement Construction or allow the Odisha Government to recoup the investment through collection of toll in case the Centre does not take up the project,” said Tripathy.