Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Manas Ranjan Mangaraj today urged the Centre to come up with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) highlighting the status of implementation of the coastal highway project in Odisha.
During the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the BJD MP raised concerns over the inordinate delay in the completion of the coastal highway project in Odisha.
“Odisha has a coastline of about 480 km which makes the infrastructural development of the coastal districts all the more important for the economy of the region. The Central government announced a coastal highway project spanning 346 km in 2015 connecting 7 coastal districts of Odisha. The project would have proved to be an important development in terms of promotion of trade, tourism, communication and industry. However there have been undefined delays in the development of the project,” MP Manas Mangaraj said.
“It comprised two parts- one connecting Rameshwar to Ratanpur and the other one connecting Ratanpur to Digha. It was to be developed under 4 packages. Initially, the first 2 packages were cancelled without any defined reason on the part of the central government. After the clearance of these 2 packages, the project was stalled due to the unavailability of environmental clearance from the Environment Ministry. However, the clearance for the same has been provided since August 2023. But there has been no headway made in the project yet by the Central government,” the BJD MP apprised the Upper House of the Parliament.
The BJD MP further urged the Central government to come up with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) highlighting the status of implementation of the project.
The central government needs to work towards completion of the coastal highway project as soon as possible because eight years have already passed since the announcement of the same and no significant development has been made as of now,” the Parliamentarian concluded.
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