Railway Board clears four new lines worth Rs 9K crore for Odisha

BHUBANESWAR : In a significant development, the Railway Board has approved four new railway lines in Odisha. The new projects totalling a distance of 312 km will be executed at a cost of around Rs 9,020.58 crore in public private partnership (PPP) mode.

The broad gauge lines include the 101-km Jajpur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra, 112.5-km Luburi-Tentuloi-Budhapank, 49-km Tikiri-Kutrumali and 49.58-km Balaram-Putagdia-Tentuloi under East Coast Railway (ECoR).

A part of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Purvodaya vision, the line between Jajpur Keonjhar Road and Dhamra Port will connect important religious and tourist destinations in Jajpur, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts. Estimated at Rs 2,987.13 crore, the project will have 10 stations between the originating and destination stations. The line will provide direct rail connectivity to Maa Biraja temple, one of the oldest religious Shakti Peethas at Jajpur Town, famous Shaivite shrine of Baba Akhandalamani at Aradi in Bhadrak and Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara.

The remaining three are part of the dedicated freight corridors, which will be developed to facilitate faster evacuation of goods. While the proposed Balaram-Putagdia-Tentuloi line is part of the inner corridor and Luburi-Tentuloi-Budhapank forms the outer corridor of Talcher coal belt, Tikiri-Kutrumali line will facilitate transport of bauxite ore from Kutrumali and Sijumali mines in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts.

The government has decided to expedite both inner and outer rail corridors for faster transportation of coal. As per the proposed expansion plan of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, the coal despatch via railway is expected to touch 162.8 MT by 2029-30. While the inner corridor (phase-II) and outer corridor of Mahanadi Coal Railway Limited (MCRL) will be developed at an estimated cost of around Rs 1,404.36 crore and Rs 3,477.67 crore respectively, the Tikiri-Kutrumali line will be taken up at Rs 1,151.42 crore, all through joint ventures or special purpose vehicle (SPV).

“The ECoR has been advised to conduct necessary consultation with stakeholders or potential investors for design and financial structuring of the projects through PPP mode. The Board has also directed to scrutinise other proposed projects for which DPRs have been completed or are under preparation for implementation,” sources told TNIE.

The zonal railways have been instructed to constitute a PPP facilitating unit at SAG level, consisting of engineering, finance and traffic officers to plan and monitor PPP projects.

“The Jajpur-Keonjhar Road-Dhamra line will fulfil the longstanding demand of people in three districts as it will reduce the distance between Jajpur Road and Dhamra Port by 12 km and benefit 30 lakh people besides facilitating freight movement,” said lawyer Satyaprakash Behuria, who is a part of the outfit that has been spearheading an agitation for expeditious execution of the project.