Bhubaneswar: Odisha MPs Tuesday sought Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s intervention in resolving a land-related issue concerning the Railway Employees Cultural Association (RECA) in West Bengal’s Kharagpur.
A delegation of MPs led by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Vaishnaw in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum, seeking resolution of the long-pending allocation issue of 5,915 square metre of railway land in New Settlement area of Kharagpur, an official release said.
The MPs said the matter has remained unresolved for over three decades, recalling that Odisha MPs had written to the prime minister March 8, 1999, while former Union minister Debendra Pradhan had also taken up the issue with then minister of state for railways Ram Naik March 15, 1999.
The legislators said the association has been playing a key role in promoting cultural unity, social welfare and Odia culture among railway employees in Kharagpur through activities centred around the Shri Jagannath Temple.
Citing an internal railway report, Dharmendra Pradhan said the association has been using the land for a long time and that schools, temples and other public infrastructure have been built on it.
He said the divisional railway manager of South Eastern Railway and other officials have already recommended regularisation of the land.
However, the land has not yet been formally allocated in the name of RECA, the MPs said, urging Vaishnaw to consider it as a “special case”.
Pradhan said the association’s role extends beyond religious activities and contributes to social harmony and national unity, adding that a permanent resolution would benefit railway employees from across the country residing in Kharagpur.
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