BHUBANESWAR: Amid the controversy over the bifurcation of East Coast Railway (ECoR) by splitting the Waltair division to create a new South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to lay the foundation stone for the zonal office building at Visakhapatnam on January 8.
Sources, however, said Modi will first lay the foundation stone for the new divisional office building at Rayagada on January 6 on virtual mode from Jammu. Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other ministers are slated to attend the event at Rayagada.
While a tender worth Rs 149 crore has been floated for the construction of the SCoR zonal office building, the new divisional headquarters at Rayagada will be constructed at Rs 107 crore for which the tender is at final stage.
The Ministry of Railways’ decision to proceed with the foundation stone-laying ceremonies for the SCoR zonal office and the Rayagada divisional headquarters before issuing a formal notification and providing clarity on their operational areas has taken many by surprise.
The Centre had announced formation of the SCoR zone in February 2019 prior to the general elections and a detailed project report was prepared. But neither any notification on operational areas was issued nor any step taken since. The contentious move to split the Waltair division sparked political outcry in the state after the tenders were floated recently.
According to railway sources, though the foundation stone of SCoR zone was delayed due to late finalisation of land particulars, protests in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh over retaining Waltair division in their respective jurisdictions delayed the decision.
No decision has, however, been made whether Waltair division, a major revenue earning division of ECoR, will be retained after the Odisha portion is merged with the new Rayagada division. As per the DPR, Waltair was to split into two parts and merge with Rayagada and Vijayawada divisions.
Former Union minister Srikant Jena said despite the lack of a formal notification and clarity on the operational areas of the new zone, the foundation stone-laying ceremonies signal the government’s intent to move forward with the controversial reorganisation of railway zones on the basis of state boundary.
Accusing the central government of sidelining Odisha’s interests, Jena said, decisions of this magnitude should not be rushed. “If retaining Waltair with ECoR is not possible, then railway sections in Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh and Jharsuguda districts currently under the South Eastern Railway (SER) and South East Central Railway (SECR) must be merged with ECoR to compensate for the revenue loss,” he demanded.