Bolangir: The standing finance committee (SFC) has approved an expense of Rs 190 crore for the long-awaited Bolangir bypass road, ultimately bringing cheers to denizens of the town.
According to sources, the proposed project had been suffering a huge setback for long years as the Centre sought the state government’s clarification on fund allocation for land acquisition. The road-laying work would begin soon after the centre will give its grant.
The 12 km-long proposed NH bypass road was surveyed and Rs 41 crore was sanctioned in FY 2013-14. After implementation of the amended Land Acquisition Act in 2013, the state government had sent a revised estimate of Rs 241 crore, for centre’s approval.
The state government had then sent the estimated amount as per rates provided by the revenue office here. However, the benchmark evaluation and sale statistics did not match for which the Centre had asked for a clarification,” NH division sources informed.
Notably, NH-26 and NH-57 pass through Bolangir town, but lack of a bypass road creates heavy traffic snarls here. The Centre had approved a plan to lay bypass road several years ago.
According to the plan, the road was to be laid from Biramuna village on NH-26 to Bijakhaman over NH-57 (Titilagarh road) passing through Sadeipali, Larkipali, Laltikra and Patnagarh road near medical college.
“We had been demanding a bypass road for quite some time. It was unfortunate to see the queer silence of many political leaders on this vital demands they were making statements only when accidents occurred and lives lost,” locals sighed.
In a bid to ensure smooth movement of vehicular traffic in the area, The Union transport ministry had earlier cleared Rs 190 crore for laying the mega road project. The ministry had then called upon Bolangir district administration to speed up the process, as the acquisition of the land did not progress on the expected lines.