Khurda-Balangir rail project hits forest land diversion hurdle

The diversion of forest land is now a major obstacle in the construction work of the Khurda Road-Balangir new line project of 289 km which links western Odisha to the coastal part of Odisha. Out of the forest land of 1,844 acres required for the project, diversion of only 170 acres has been done so far. On Wednesday Railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw told the media that this project includes the acquisition of 6,162 acres of land along with a diversion of 1,844 acres of forest land. Out of which, 5,333 acres of land is acquired while forest land diversion of only 170 acres is completed to date. The state government needs to acquire land of 829 acres and take steps for the diversion of forest land of 1,674 acres, he added. The Odisha government entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Railway Ministry to provide land free of cost for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur new line and the Khurda Road-Balangir new line. It is among the oldest projects that have been sanctioned in 1994-95. Currently out of the total work 92 km has been commissioned; Khurda Road to Mahipur of 77 km and Balangir to Bichupalli of 15 km. The total estimated cost for the project stands at Rs 3,792 crore. Alongside the free land, the government of Odisha will share 50% of the project cost from 112 km to 289 km. Up to March 2021, an expenditure of Rs 1,497 crore is incurred on the project. Around Rs 1,000.5 crore outlay has also been provided in the fiscal year 2021-22. Image Source Also read: Odisha govt to upgrade 253 slums in urban forest land