ROURKELA: In what seems to be a tit-for-tat response, the Sundargarh administration has asked the South Eastern Railway (SER) to provide land and resources for the rehabilitation of squatters instead of seeking protection from police to help remove illegal encroachment for the stalled third-line project.
Sources said for more than five years, the SER had stalled construction of a four-lane project of the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) on a stretch of 1,200 metre through its Rourkela Railway Colony. Besides, the SER on December 16 last year had asked the administration to pay Rs.103 crore towards land lease charges and Rs. 7 crore compensation for damage to assets by allowing the road widening work. Many consider the district administration’s latest move as a tit-for-tat response to the SER.
Sources said due to unauthorised slums on railway land, a stretch of around 5.5 km of the third line between Panposh and Rourkela is yet to be completed. A part of the busy Howrah-Mumbai main line of the SER, the third line project holds immense significance as it would cater to the increasingly-growing train traffic volume on the route. While the third line is already in use in other regions, the SER in a stopgap arrangement is using the Birmitrapur-Rourkela line as the third line.
On July 5, the deputy chief engineer (construction) urged the district administration to provide police assistance to remove around 800 unauthorised houses for construction of the third line. But on July 11, Rourkela ADM Ashutosh Kulkarni wrote to the divisional railway manager (DRM) of SER’s Chakradharpur Division in this connection and said these slum inhabitants have been protesting for proper rehabilitation package and have also warned of consequences.
The letter read, “In this regard, efforts should be made to identify railway land. The cost of house construction needs to be evaluated. It is requested that a suitable package of railway land be identified and money deposited with the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) or Rourkela Development Authority for execution of rehabilitation. Since the number of houses to be removed is high, it is advisable to work on the rehabilitation package than direct deployment of police for removal of encroachment.”
The ADM’s stance reiterated the district administration’s proposal floated in May 2018 which urged the railways to provide a land parcel of around 20 acre for rehabilitation of the affected slum dwellers with affordable housing project under the PMAY-Urban with a clause mandating use of land of central government for the purpose. However, the SER had taken the plea that the railways has no policy for such rehabilitation.