The railway bridge over Mahanadi river under construction near Paradip. Telegraph picture

Paradip, July 8: Land acquisition hurdles continue to impede progress of the Haridaspur-Paradip rail link project.

The project that would provide crucial link between Paradip port and state’s mineral-rich areas remains in a limbo despite investments by private and public limited companies. This year’s railway budget has allotted Rs 187 crore for the project.

While acquisition process for the 1,740 acres required for the project began in 1997, it is yet to reach a conclusive stage. The authorities are yet to acquire about 400 acres required for the project. Of the total land required, 1,453 acres are privately owned land.

The railways had signed a traffic guarantee agreement with the prospective users of the proposed 82km long railway line and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) was constituted. The project work had started on August 1, 2007, and the project was set to be complete by July 31, 2009. However, dispute over payment to land losers has delayed the project inordinately.

On the other hand, construction of rail bridges is fast progressing. The East Coast Railway authorities have requested the government agencies to expedite the land acquisition process.

Despite land issues becoming a major hurdle, a an east coast railway official feels if everything is on the right track, the rail link would be fully commissioned in the next three years.

Sizeable chunk of land earmarked for the project has been acquired and handed over to railways authorities. However, the acquisition of land in the villages close to Paradip has been a cumbersome process, said an official of Paradip administration.

“The issues regarding land acquisition near Paradip are being settled. The acquisition process has been hit as affected landowners are insistent on higher compensation package. The matter has been taken up with the concerned authorities,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick.

Once the project becomes operational, the rail link will enable cargo movement amounting to 19 million tonnes as it will pass through the mining belts of Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Kendrapara districts and connect them to Paradip port. It will also go a long way in easing ore transportation-induced traffic burden on the existing Paradip-Daitary expressway, said a port trust official.