ROURKELA: With the process of land acquisition for the development of the newly announced National Highway (NH) 320 D underway and the tender for Rs 159 crore worth of project recently floated, the National Highway Division (NHD) authorities are faced with a new challenge from locals who are demanding alignment diversion in Bisra block of Sundargarh district.
Sources said a group of villagers opposing the highway that passes through the market area of Bisra block headquarters on Monday held a protest and submitted a memorandum to Panposh Sub-Collector at Rourkela, Daulat Chandrakar with a demand to skip their locality as it would lead to the demolition of houses and shops besides causing accidents.
With growing instances of resistance to development projects in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district, the NHD authorities are sceptical and additionally apprehensive of facing land hurdles during compensation disbursement for private land.
National Highway Division (NHD) Executive Engineer (EE) Santosh Patra informed land acquisition process for about a 24 km stretch from Jareikela to Diesel Colony of Bondamunda has begun for which a tender worth about Rs 159 crore was recently floated. Work would however start only after getting physical possession of the required land, he added.
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways published a gazette notification on September 19, 2018, declaring the NH 320 D starting from its junction with NH-20 near Chakradharpur in Jharkhand and terminating at the NH 143 junction at Rourkela in Odisha. In March 2022 the MoRTH had sanctioned Rs 209.92 crore for the development of a 36 km stretch of the NH 320 D in Sundargarh into a two-lane with paved shoulder.
It is learnt, of the 36 km stretch from Jareikela to Diesel Colony was previously a Major District Road, 12 km comprises parts of two roads of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) and the Hanuman Vatika bypass of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC).
With no clarity on whether RSP would allow two of its roads including part of the ring road to be declared as NH 320 D and also provide additional land, the NHD authorities have no immediate plan for developing the questionable 12 km stretch.
Chandrakar said the acquisition of 138 acres of private land between Jareikela and Diesel Colony is targeted to be completed in the next three to six months if everything goes on expected lines. He hoped the RSP would allow land for widening of the highway between Diesel Colony and Bisra Square and also part with the portion of the ring road falling on the alignment for the NH 320 D.