Paradip, March 30: Work on the Cuttack-Chandballi state highway is set to begin shortly with land acquisition for the project nearing completion.

Authorities have invited a global tender for the Rs 800 crore World Bank-funded project that will reduce the road distance between Bhubaneswar and Calcutta.

The 106km highway is dotted with thickly-populated human settlements and is widely regarded as one of the busiest routes in the state. Officials had to deal with private land acquisition, encroachment of government land and relocation of roadside places of worship. Besides, houses had come up along the road at several places. All these factors added up to the long time required for land acquisition, said Kendrapara collector Durga Prasad Behera.

“Work for the highway-widening will start shortly after finalisation of the global tender bid. The acquisition of land is almost complete. Of the 106 villages concerned, roadside land has already been acquired in 95 villages. Felling of trees and relocation of places of worship and electricity poles are also nearing completion,” said land acquisition officer (World Bank projects), Odisha, A.K. Nanda,

The highway is widely regarded as a lifeline for the people in Kendrapara district. The road also passes through Bhadrak and Cuttack districts. The government took the decision to widen the state highway in 2006. At that time, it was planned that the project would be completed by 2008-09. However, the project faced land acquisition-related hurdles. Since the highway mostly traversed through thickly-populated areas, roadside encroachment had become pronounced. Places of worship, unauthorised permanent constructions and concrete buildings — erected both on private and government land stood in the way of the project.

Private land owners have received Rs 40 crore in compensation so far against the loss of their immovable property. Sixty-four places of worship were demolished with funds sanctioned for rebuilding them on private land. The felling of roadside trees has also made satisfactory progress. Relocation of electricity poles and drinking water pipelines is now complete, said Nanda.

To compensate the loss of tree cover, a plantation drive has been undertaken. While the number of trees pulled down so far stands at over 50,000, ten times the number would be planted either by highway side in community village land. The state-run forest development corporation is taking care of the plantation, said an official.

The busy state highway is being taken up for double-laning under the World Bank-funded Odisha State Road Project (OSRB) scheme. It would restore excellent road connectivity with Bhitarkanika National Park. The highway is being widened to 22 metres for trouble-free traffic movement, said officials.