With the State Government initiating the land acquisition process for the proposed Angul-Sukinda broad gauge railway line, target has been set to start the work from April next year.
Chief Secretary BK Patnaik, who reviewed the project at a high-level meeting here on Wednesday, asked the Revenue Department to expedite the land acquisition by paying the price acceptable to the affected people. The cost of private land should be rationalised with the market price prevailing in the particular area, he said.
District collectors concerned were asked to provide active support in getting physical possession of the acquired land.
Of the total land to be acquired, 1,205 acres are private, 220 acres government land and 251 acres forest land. There will be no displacement of any family for the project.
The 102-km rail line to be constructed on a public private partnership (PPP) mode between Talcher Road (Talcher-Sambalpur Line) and Bahguapala Station (Daitari-Keonjhar-Bansapani line) is estimated to cost ` 1,100 crore. Rail Vikash Nigam Limited, Government of Odisha, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd and Bhusan Steel and Power Ltd are partners in the project.
It will serve the interests of three districts of Angul, Dhenkanal and Jajpur, which are considered to be the industrial hubs of the State. The total traffic projection has been estimated at 70.28 million tonnes.
The new broad gauge (BG) line will cater to the need of a number of industries including Bhusan Steels, Uttam Galva and Steels, Jindal Stainless Steel Ltd, Visa Industries, Tata Steel, Monnet Ispat and Energy, ArcelorMittal India and Rungta Mines.
The new line has been envisaged as a number of mega steel projects are coming up in this region. The new railway track will provide connectivity between coal fields in Talcher and Banspani-Sukinda line. This will give a boost to transportation of coal and iron ore from this region, official sources said.
“The new broad gauge railway line will be a reliable, economic and faster alternative for passenger transport. Around one crore people will benefit either directly or indirectly by the proposed rail line and the project will generate about 14 lakh man days of employment,” the sources added.
Meanwhile, location survey has been completed and alignment of rail line finalised. Bridge work on the Brahmani river is in full swing with progress of around 25 per cent.