BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to fast-track the implementation of two major ring road projects worth over Rs 7,500 crore, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has urged the Odisha government to immediately initiate the process for statutory clearances, especially forest land diversion.
The two critical infrastructure projects - Capital Region Ring Road (CRRR) and Sambalpur Ring Road - have been delayed by over two years due to pending forest clearances at various levels within the state Forest department.
Worried over the delay, NHAI chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav has requested chief secretary Manoj Ahuja to intervene and direct forest officials to expedite the process for obtaining the clearances at the earliest.
“The projects are time-bound, and postponement in statutory approvals could lead to significant time and cost escalations. Delays also deprive the state of timely benefits in terms of improved connectivity, enhanced productivity, overall development, and increased GDP contribution,” Yadav said in a letter to Ahuja.
Even as NHAI pushed for speedy forest clearances, environmentalists have raised serious concerns over the CRRR alignment, which passes through an ecologically-sensitive zone in Dhenkanal district. The road alignment is such that it will pass through Kapilash elephant sanctuary, a key habitat of the flagship species. Wildlife experts fear that the road could trigger increased human-elephant conflict and severely impact elephant habitat, potentially disrupting their movement.
“At least 10 km of the proposed CRRR alignment overlaps with forest patches that serve as traditional elephant paths. The project in its current form will bisect a crucial habitat used by elephants and other wildlife. Once construction begins, it will permanently alter the landscape and could prove disastrous for conservation efforts,” said a wildlife researcher.
The CRRR project is a 111-km six-lane access-controlled expressway that will form a ring around Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Aimed at easing traffic congestion and streamlining long-distance vehicular movement on NH-16, the road will allow bypassing of urban stretches including Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Athagarh, Cuttack, and Choudwar. Conceptualised in April 2021, the alignment of the CRRR was finalised that year and land acquisition began in June 2022. The project, approved under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, will be executed in three phases with an estimated cost of Rs 6,100 crore.
The second major project - a 35.38-km four-lane greenfield ring road around Sambalpur will be built as a vital link for reducing traffic congestion and facilitating industrial development in western Odisha.
The project, estimated to cost Rs 1,333 crore, will require 290 hectare (ha) of land, including 170 ha of private land and 120 ha of government land. Land acquisition involving around 19 villages surrounding Sambalpur city has already been completed.