Chhatrapur: Ganjam Collector Premchandra Choudhury Thursday asked National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) officials to ensure that the upcoming coastal highway under the Centre’s Sagarmala project does not affect the ongoing state government projects in the district.
NHAI officials held a meeting with Ganjam district Collector at the collectorate here to discuss about the road to be constructed.
The Centre has decided to set up a 450-km-long coastal national highway connecting Gopalpur of Ganjam district and Digha in West Bengal under the project.
The meeting dwelt on the approximately 30- km stretch of the highway that would come under Ganjam district.
Biju Pathir, the project director of NHAI who came from Bhubaneswar, apprised the Collector about the project. The road would touch some important locations of the district including railway line, Kanamana and Arypalli panchyat, Gopalpur Port, Tampara tourist spot and the plant site of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL), a Central government undertaking, informed the project director.
As the highway is likely to pass along IREL, NHAI has to obtain permission from the Union atomic energy department since the plant comes under it, a report said.
Similarly, permission is to be taken from environment ministry as several trees are required to be felled for the project, the officials said.
Chhatrapur town receives drinking water from Tampara and the district administration has several plans in place to develop the latter as a major tourist destination of the district.
The Collector advised the officials to ensure that the coastal highway project does not affect the ongoing state government projects.
Additional district magistrate Bijay Kumar Dash, deputy collector Anjan Das, IREL’s GK Nayak and land acquisition officer Ashok Kumar Das were present in the meeting.
PNN
