Bolangir: After Ashwini Vaishnaw, a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha, became the Railway Minister, people of western Odisha have pinned their hopes on him to carry forward various railway projects in the area.
One of the major projects in the area is the Khurda-Bolangir railway project. Various quarters have started discussing about the project, work on which is expected to be expedited.
However, the agreement signed between the state government and the Centre regarding the railway project has not been renewed. The renewal is necessary to expedite the ambitious project, said RTI activist Hemanta Panda.
Panda alleged that the project assumes much importance in the communication sector, but it has been a victim of negligence of the authorities.
The RTI activist pointed out that the Railway ministry and the state government had signed an agreement July 20, 2015 to expedite the Khurda-Bolangir railway project.
As per the agreement, the state and Centre will bear the cost of the project in 50:50 ratio, particularly for the stretch from Dasapalla to Bolangir. The railway project was to be commissioned in six years, which means in June 2021.
However, the deadline of this agreement has expired in July this year. The state government had agreed to complete the land acquisition work in two-and-a-half years.
It was alleged that even though six years have passed, the state and the Centre have not been keen to renew the agreement of the project.
The RTI activist said that the Chief Minister had earlier expressed unhappiness over the inordinate delay in completing the project.
PNN