Sundargarh to hand over land for early completion of East Coast Railway's project

Bonai Sub-Collector Pradip Dang said the land would be handed over to ECoR in next couple of months so that tender can be invited and work started from Bimlagarh side.
Stage II clearance has been received for the forest land and the ECoR is likely to start felling trees on the 10 km stretch soon, Dang added. 
Stage II clearance has been received for the forest land and the ECoR is likely to start felling trees on the 10 km stretch soon, Dang added. 

ROURKELA:  The Sundargarh administration has decided to hand over encumbrance-free land of 10 km on a stretch to allow the East Coast Railway (ECoR) expedite work on the Bimlagarh-Talcher new rail line project.  

Bonai Sub-Collector Pradip Dang said the land would be handed over to ECoR in next couple of months so that tender can be invited and work started from Bimlagarh side. Hearings for acquisition of private land in 29 villages have been completed and disbursement of payment in four villages of Koida and one in Lahunipada has started. Maximum government land has been alienated and the process for the rest will be completed by January next year. 

Stage II clearance has been received for the forest land and the ECoR is likely to start felling trees on the 10 km stretch soon, Dang added. Amid inordinate delay in land acquisition in Angul, Deogarh and Sundargarh districts, the ECoR has several times revised the project completion target. Last year, the target was further pushed to March 2025 subject to getting the required land by March 2022.  Since the project was approved in 2003-04, work on only 17.62 km from Talcher to Sunakhani has been completed. Work is underway on another 16.30 km stretch between Sunakhani and Parabil in Angul. 

Sources said of the total project length of 149.7 km, Angul has 78.5 km and till March 2021, land hurdles were cleared on 53 km stretch. Deogarh and Sundargarh have track lengths of 32.1 km and 39.15 km respectively. Till March 2021, both Deogarh and Sundargarh had not got any physical possession of the required land. The commencement of work from Bimlagarh side holds significance as it will help in early completion of the project.    

Administrative sources said the rail line project requires 248.520 acre of private land and 138 acre of government land in 29 villages under Koida, Lahunipada and Bonai tehsils of Sundargarh. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com