The Ministry of Environment and Forests has already granted forest clearance for the Angul-Sukinda railway line project.
Anugul-Sukinda Railway ltd (ASRl) MD Dillip Samantaray said this to mediapersons after attending the SMART Infra Odisha conclave oranised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce here on Tuesday.
He said the project has gained forest clearance from the Centre for the entire 104 km stretch at one go and work permission from the State Government. The project, which will link crucial industrial and mining belts of Angul, Keonjhar and Kalinga Nagar, would be implemented in full flow immediately, he said.
The line is scheduled to be completed by July 2018.
Samantaray said land acquisition for the 104 km stretch encompassing around 1,470 acre have been completed and preliminary work had commenced excluding the areas that needed Forest clearance.
He, however, stated that an emerging problem in the way of renewed compensation demand by locals for the acquired land has emerged. “While compensation has already been paid as per the old law, the land losers have begun to demand the compensation under the New land Acquisition Act and filing litigation in the courts,” he informed.
The ARSl chief said the matter has already been brought to the notice of the Government seeking to ensure that it does not affect the railway line work.
The project cost has already seen a rise from the initially estimated Rs 1,100 crore to Rs 1,500 crore due to delays on various grounds.
The present special purpose vehicle (SPV) now comprises Rail Vikas Nigam ltd (RVNl), Container Corporation of India, Jindal Steel and Power ltd (JSPl) and State Government as equity partners. The equity component is to the tune of Rs 600 crore while the rest capital would be raised from loans.