In a bid to expedite the Khurda-Bolangir railway line, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday directed officials to ensure completion of the project on scheduled.
Reviewing the progress of the Khurda-Bolangir railway line at the State secretariat here, Patnaik asked them to complete the entire work by 2021.
The Khurda-Bolangir line is an important project for the State for which the State government is bearing 50 per cent expenses for acquiring land for Daspalla-Bolangir project, said Patnaik suggesting the railway officials to lay special emphasis on the project.
The Chief Minister said he will review the progress every two months. The Revenue, Forest & Environment and Commerce & Transport departments have been asked to provide necessary assistance to the railway authorities to finish the 289 km-long project on time.
Notably, the project is being carried out in three phases including Khurda-Begunia (36 km), Begunia-Daspalla (76 km) and Daspalla-Bolangir (177 km).
The MoU was signed on July 20 this year between State government and the Railway Ministry to complete the project within six years.
While train services have started on Khurda-Begunia section, the track laying work from Begunia to Rajsunakhela has been completed.
A target has been set to complete rail line work from Rajasunakhela to Nayagarh by March 2017.
Similarly, the Daspalla-Bolangir phase of the project has been estimated at Rs 2000 crore. Both the Centre and State will bear the expenses in equal manner. Along with it, the State government will bear expenses of Rs 350 for land acquisition.
In order to accelerate the land acquisition process for the railway project, the State government has appointed 3 officers in Nayagarh, Boudh and Bolangir.
The railway board has approved the 49 km-long railway line project that will be constructed from Bolangir to Sonepur. The work for 19 km-long project from Bolangir to Bhainsapalli will begin by December this year.
