Gunpur: The 47-year-old railway project Naupada-Gunupur extension up to Theruvali (79.4 km) has been sanctioned a paltry Rs 1 lakh in the 2020-21 railway budget.
The amount sanctioned is like a drop in the ocean which has pushed the project into further uncertainty. In first phase, Rs 1 crore had been sanctioned for the railway line while in 2019-20, Rs 10 lakh was sanctioned for construction of the railway line.
The 2017-18 railway budget had a mention of the Gunupur-Therubali Railway project, but the railways has since backed out citing poor rate of return.
For 47 years, people of Rayagada district have been demanding a railway line from Gunpur to Therubali for which Rs 935 crore was estimated in 2017-18 for the 79.4-km project.
People of Rayagada were excited after the project was sanctioned. But unfortunately, it was abandoned midway. Koraput MP Saptagiri Ulaka raised a question about the railway line in Parliament July 2, 2019.
The railway minister replied that it needed an additional Rs 1273.74 crore for completing the project. The project will not yield much profit as the estimated rate of return is only 3.19 per cent, it was suggested. Railways authorities said if the state government provides land free for the track and bears 50 per cent of its cost it will execute the project.