ROURKELA: Senior officials of Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway (SER) held a meeting with Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan and other district officials to resolve the encroachment and land acquisition issues that have stalled multiple railway projects through Rourkela on the Howrah-Mumbai main line.
SER sources said work on the five km stretch of Jharsuguda-Rourkela third line is stuck due to encroachment. Similarly, work on the fourth line between Rourkela and A cabin of Bondamunda is stuck while work on the C link project at Bondamunda was stopped by residents of a village in Bisra block.
While no fresh land acquisition is needed for the third and fourth rail projects, for the C link project, around two acre of Government land is required. These projects are being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The C link project is a junction for the Ranchi line on the Howrah-Mumbai route. Track doubling work is underway from Ranchi towards Bondamunda. The project envisages construction of a loop line to divert traffic to and from Ranchi.
The Orissa High Court in December 2018 had rejected the plea of encroachers on the third line. Rourkela Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dibyajyoti Parida, Sundargarh ADM Biswajit Mohapatra and SER DRM Bijay Sahu were among those present in the meeting.