Bolangir: The long-awaited Khurda-Bolangir railway project is nowhere near completion despite an agreement signed by the state government and the railways in 2015 to speed up its work.
It is said that the project is known for its inordinate delay while its cost has been escalating by year.
It may be noted here that considering the repeated demands from people of Khurda, Nayagarh, Kandhamal, Boudh, Subarnapur and Bolangir districts for expeditious work, the state government and the railways had signed an agreement in 2015 to carry forward the project.
Such an agreement between a state government and the railway ministry is the first one in the country for expeditious construction of a railway project. As per the agreement, the project should have been completed by 2021.
However, six years after this agreement, there has been no headway in the project. It was alleged that the project has been a victim of neglect and apathy from both sides.
RTI activist of Bolangir Hemanta Kumar Panda alleged that the railway project which was supposed to bring about a lot of changes in the above-said districts is still wallowing in neglect.
He added that the railway ministry still nurtures an apathetic attitude towards the railway sector in Odisha. According to the agreement, the cost sharing of the railway project was made on 50:50 basis.
Besides, the state government had agreed to provide land for the project free of coast. As per RTI data obtained by Panda, between 2015-16 and 2020-21 the railways has spent Rs 1090.96 crore while the state government has contributed only Rs 480crore for the project.
In the 2021 budget, the railways announced Rs 1050 crore more for the project. If the budgetary allocations in the last 10 years are taken into account, Rs 5,000 crore has been allocated for the project.
But in fact only Rs 1344 crore has been spent for its work till date. It was earlier decided that rail service would be launched between Bichhupalli and Jhartarbha (a distance of 10.35 km) in the current year.
But it missed the deadline, Panda lamented. In January 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the work of the railway project would be expedited.
It seems the assurance of the Prime Minister has failed to meet the expectations of the people. Meanwhile, the deadline of the railway project has been extended to 2024.
In fact, the railway authorities have not yet obtained stage-1 environment clearance for a stretch of 68 km of this project.
The project was sanctioned in 1994, but it has not yet obtained the stage-1 clearance. It shows the sheer neglect of the central government to this ambitious railway project.
PNN