A few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with concerned officers about completion of the Khurda-Balangir rail line project, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has now decided to review the implementation of the project.
The Prime Minister had reviewed the project on January 22 in New Delhi and asked the concerned authorities to speed up the project.
Since then, the Cabinet Secretariat has been in touch with the Odisha Government, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Environment and Forest in this regard. He will review the project on February 22.
The proposed railway line was envisaged for connecting eastern and western Odisha through Khordha, Puri, Nayagarh, Boudh, Subarnapur and Balangir districts. It would provide infrastructure support for industrial development and lead to hinterland development.
The project conceived in 1995 has been taken in four stretches of Khurda Road-Begunia (0-36 km), Begunia–Daspala (36–112 km), Daspalla-Sonepur (112-240km) and Sonepur–Balangir (240-289 km).
By now, the rail work up to 36 km from Balangir to Bichhupali has been commissioned for passenger traffic.
While work on 36-80 km stretch is in progress from the Balangir side. Dasapala-Sonepur-Bolangir sections are being taken up with partial funding by Government of Odisha.
Out of total 6,600 hectare required land, 1,700 hectare is acquired for Dasapala-Sonepur-Bolangir sections.
The Cabinet Secretary will thoroughly review the progress in the rest 4,900 hectares of land and forest clearances.
While required land up to Daspalla has been handed over to the Railways, work has not been taken up yet.
The State Government is harping on the need for substantial progress of the project from Bolangir side. Senior officials of the Cabinet Secretariat would visit Bhubaneswar in the first week of February and hold discussions with Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy on the project.