Kendrapara, Feb. 27: The 82km-long Haridashpur-Paradip rail project traversing through Kendrapara, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur districts is pegged for further delay.

Kendrapara district is among seven districts in the state, which is yet to figure in the rail map. The budgetary allocation for this rail line project stands at Rs 36.8 crore.

The project, when complete, would restore the much-needed rail connectivity for Paradip port with the mineral-rich hinterland in Jajpur and Keonjhar districts. It would also go a long way in easing the ore transportation-induced traffic burden on the existing Paradip-Daitary Expressway, said a port official.

Though its foundation was laid on April 4, 1999, it hardly made any progress for almost eight years following poor budgetary allocation. Later, the Indian Railways had signed the traffic guarantee agreement with the prospective users of the proposed 82km-long railway line and a special purpose vehicle was constituted.

The project work had started on August 1, 2007, with scheduled deadline for completion being July 31, 2009. However issues, mostly arising out of land acquisition, have delayed the project inordinately, said an East Cost Railway official.

The rail project is being implemented by a special purpose vehicle where many private and public companies have invested. Haridaspur Paradip Railway Company Limited is the special purpose vehicle with an equity base of Rs 275 crore, of which Rail Vikash Nigam Ltd holds a share of 48.43 per cent, the official said.

There was Rs 187-crore allocation for the project in the last rail budget. In 2013, this project was sanctioned Rs 72.46 crore in the railway budget. Despite the project being a vital one for economic growth of Kendrapara and Jagatsinghpur, the budgetary sanction has always been on the lower side. Following allotment of Rs 36.8 crore for the project, the Centre has now put a break on the project.

"Poor allocation would further impede the progress of the much-delayed project. For the past 15 years, the project has been lagging behind. Successive governments both in the state and the Centre have done precious little for expeditious commissioning of the project," said district CPM secretary Umesh Singh.