BHUBANESWAR: The Ministry of Railways has ordered a fresh survey to realign the proposed rail line from Puri to Konark. Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal told the Rajya Sabha that the survey for Puri-Konark (33 km) new line was completed in 2015-16. As the proposed rail line was passing through Balukhand-Konark wildlife sanctuary, a fresh survey has been sanctioned to explore feasibility of another alignment to avoid damage to the sanctuary.
The new line to Konark will ensure the much-needed rail connectivity of the ‘Golden Triangle’ between Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark and boost tourism potential of the area. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has already communicated his government’s decision of sharing 50 per cent of the project cost with the Ministry for the project.
On redevelopment of Bhubaneswar station, Goyal said it has been taken up jointly by Railways and the State government. The new station building and new lines with platform are planned to be developed in an integrated manner over the land belonging to Railways and the State.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) on behalf of the State government and East Coast Railway on September 19, 2019. BDA has engaged a consultant for designing the station as multi-modal hub integrating it with surrounding Smart City development.
He said the proposal for extension of Naupada-Gunupur new line upto Therubali has been included in Budget 2017-18 subject to requisite government approvals. A detailed project report has been prepared.
The State government has been requested to share 50 pc cost of construction and to provide land free of cost. The government has agreed only for providing land free of cost. Goyal said his Ministry has again requested the State government to share the cost of construction besides providing land free of cost.
Responding to another query, Goyal said there is no proposal for construction of railway wagon factory at Sitalapalli near Berhampur in Ganjam district.