Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the by-election to the Padampur Assembly Constituency in Bargarh on 5th of December, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have locked horns over the sanction of a new railway line b/w Bargarh & Nuapada via Padampur
Odisha Commerce and Transport Department Minister Smt. Tukuni Sahu has written a letter to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to sanction the new Railway line between Bargarh and Nuapada, via Padampur.
Minister Sahu apprised the Railway Minister that she has ascertained a memorandum from the people of Padampur submitted to Hon’ble CM Shri Naveen Patnaik, requesting to sanction the important new railway line between Bargarh and Nuapada, via Padampur.
“In reference to the above new line, from Bargarh Station to Nuapada Rd Station, on Dt 15.12.2018, Hon’ble Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a public meeting announced that Central Government has sanctioned the project and same was also highlighted by the Hon’ble Cabinet Minister in his Social Media account,” she stated.
It may be noted that since the year 2018, CM Naveen Patnaik and Odisha Government have been requesting Ministry of Railways to sanction the important railway line between Bargarh and Nuapada, via Padampur. The project has a Rate of Return (RoR) of 17.31% as per study undertaken by East Coast Railway and communicated to Ministry of Railways vide letter Dated 11.01.2019.
This railway project can offer an important communication link to the people of the two districts of Odisha and act as a potential catalyst for rapid economic development of Western Odisha. With this new line, the Western Odisha region will get a shorter and quicker connectivity with the Coastal Odisha through the Khurda – Balangir line, she emphasized.
Contrary to the announcement by Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Railways in 2019 communicated that the proposed new line has been shelved as it did not appear to be financially viable, despite the high RoR, which is much beyond the requirement for approving a new line, she pointed out.
Further, Railway Board asked the State Government to contribute free land and RR cost for land acquisition for considering the project. And on this request, Odisha CM approved not only free land for the entire project (Private, Government and Forest Land) but also pledged Rs 300 crores towards construction of the project, so that it becomes even more lucrative for Indian Railways to sanction the project. The same has been communicated to Ministry of Railways, Minster Sahu said.
“Despite Odisha Govt coming forward to offer with all cooperation, the important project is still waiting to advance from paper work and surveys through other agencies. It may be noted that Ministry of Railways has suggested that State led JV, ORIDL, to undertake the surveys. Given the immense benefit the new line will offer, Indian Railways need to come forward, allocate funds and start the work immediately,” she stated in the letter.
The Odisha C&T Minister requested the Railways Minister to reconsider the decision and sanction this very important railway line while entrusting East-Coast Railways to begin the land acquisition process for starting the construction work expeditiously.
“Odisha Govt has always prioritised infrastructure development in the Western and Southern Odisha and built Biju Expressway for accelerated economic development in the region,” Minister Tukuni Sahu said requesting Vaishnaw you to come forward to invest in this important railway line and be a partner in the socio-economic development of Padampur and adjoining region.
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