Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday reviewed land acquisition, pending litigation and other bottlenecks delaying the construction of the Talacher-Bimalagarh new broad-gauge railway project, with Revenue and Disaster Management Department Additional Chief Secretary Arabinda Kumar Padhee directing officials to expedite the process in public interest.
The review meeting was held at Lokaseva Bhavan under the chairmanship of Padhee, who stressed the need for systematic completion of the remaining land acquisition and seamless transfer of acquired land to facilitate faster execution of the long-pending railway project.
Sanctioned in 2003-04, the 149.78-km railway line requires 2,144.028 acres of land. Of this, 1,868.357 acres have been acquired, while acquisition of another 275.671 acres is pending.
The remaining land includes 202.15 acres of private land, 13.7 acres of forest land and 59.821 acres of government land. The Stage-I forest clearance process for the forest land is underway, while the approval and alienation process for the government land is also in progress.
The railway project passes through Anugola, Debagada and Sundaragada districts.
During the meeting, officials discussed the acquisition of the remaining land, compensation issues, court cases and the proper transfer of land already acquired for the project.
Padhee said early resolution of land acquisition-related issues would help accelerate the project, which is expected to improve rail connectivity in economically backward areas of Odisha and facilitate transportation.
He emphasised coordination among the departments and authorities concerned and directed that the transfer of land be completed through due process while keeping public interest in focus.
Railway Coordination Commissioner Kaustubh Dipta Pani, Debagada District Collector Kabindra Kumar Sahu, Presiding Officer Abhijit Palei and other senior officials attended the meeting.
