The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has accused the Centre of diluting the Odisha Coastal Highway Project by leaving out the proposed Paradeep-to-Digha stretch.
The principal Opposition party demanded reconsideration of the original plan for a coastal highway linking Gopalpur and Digha.
The criticism comes a day after the Union cabinet approved a ₹8,300-crore coastal highway project from Rameswar in Khurda district to Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur district. The Odisha government hailed the decision as a major boost to infrastructure development, with chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi describing it as a new chapter in the state's growth.
BJD vice-president and former minister Sanjay Kumar Das Burma said the project had finally received approval after an 11-year wait and was crucial for Odisha's tourism, economy and development of coastal regions.
Recalling an announcement made by Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari during the 2015 Nabakalebara festival, Das Burma said a nearly 450-km coastal highway from Gopalpur to Digha had originally been proposed.
"While the cabinet has approved the Rameswar-Konark and Konark-Paradeep stretches, the coastal regions of Bhadrak and Balasore districts covering the Paradeep-to-Digha section have been left out. The original DPR for the Gopalpur-to-Digha Coastal Highway should be reconsidered," he said.
Das Burma alleged that repeated changes in alignment, cancellation of tenders on three occasions and administrative neglect delayed the project. He also claimed that tenders floated earlier without financial approval were intended to mislead people.
He said environmental concerns relating to the Chilika and Bhitarkanika regions had posed hurdles to the project over the years.
The BJD further alleged that the Centre's "discriminatory attitude" towards Odisha had resulted in changes to the project's original scope and structure.
The cabinet committee on economic affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the construction of the Rameswar-Paradeep coastal highway under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) in two packages covering 160.18km at a cost of ₹8,300.79 crore.
Under Package-I, a four-lane highway will be built from Rameswar to Konark over 79.40 km at a cost of ₹5,304.80 crore. Package-II involves a two-lane highway with paved shoulders from Konark to Paradeep at a cost of ₹2,995.99 crore.
The highway will pass through Khurda, Puri, Kendrapada and Jagatsinghpur and is expected to improve connectivity and travel efficiency across the coastal belt.