Rourkela: Hopes have been rekindled following some recent developments on the much-awaited Talcher-Bimalagarh railway link. Fresh tender has been floated in the first phase for 32-km Bimalagarh-Mhauldhipa railway line connectivity for Rs 500 crore. Land acquisition is left only for 6.5 km of this route.
Meanwhile, sources in the Revenue Department have confirmed that this process would be over by September end. It has been decided that a full-fledged office will be functional for this purpose at Boani soon. It is to be noted here that, nearly 76 acre private land could not be handed over to the Railways for various reasons. All land-related cases will be heard August 14 in the LARA court. Everybody is hopeful that impediments regarding land acquisition will soon be resolved. President of Sachetan Nagarik Manch (SNM) Bimal Bisi, who has waged almost a lone battle on this front, said, “I have expressed my gratitude to the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In a letter to the state Revenue department dated June18, 2024, I had enquired about the status of land acquisition in Deogarh, Angul and Sundargarh districts.” Bisi further informed that after his letter, the additional secretary of the state Revenue department had written to the Collectors of all the three districts and “instructed them to expedite the land acquisition process in their respective districts.” “Once land acquisition on the 32-km stretch is over, it will open the path for further acquisition,” Bisi exuded hope. He thanked the efforts of Pranabandhu Sahu, former CMO of East Coast Railway.
RAJESH MOHANTY, OP
