Bhubaneswar, July 13: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik today expressed displeasure over the delay in construction of the Khurda-Balangir railway line in Rajsunakhala and Bolgarh section.

Naveen also advised railway officials to expedite the project to allow people of Nayagarh town get rail connectivity by March 2017.

The construction on the stretch was scheduled to be completed by June, 2016. However, the work is yet to be completed. This was revealed during a review at the third apex committee meeting for the ongoing Khurda-Balangir rail line that is jointly executed by the railway ministry and state government. The two parties had signed a MoU to this effect last year. The state government has offered to provide land free of cost and also share 50 per cent of the project cost.

East Coast Railway general manager Rajiv Vishnoi told newspersons that land acquisition had been completed in up to 90km from the Khurda side and 19km from the Balangir side. "Construction is being taken up wherever land is available," he said.

However, he admitted that the project had been delayed due to the advent of monsoon and assured the state government about expediting work.

In a related development, chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi said the national highway projects in Odisha have also been put on fast track. Padhi took stock of the projects at a meeting of officials along with senior functionaries of the Union ministry of road transport and highways at the secretariat today. He said definite timelines had been set for completion of the national highway projects.

Padhi also urged senior ministry officials to develop more roads in the state's western and southern parts through the National Highways Authority of India. He laid stress on development of the national highway from Vizag to Jagdalpur, which connects Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The road passes through Sunki-Koraput-Jeypore-Nabarangour-Buriguma-Kotpad in Odisha. Padhi stressed on expediting the project in the Vijayawada-Ranchi corridor connecting Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand. He laid emphasis on completing the development of the road from Berhampur to Rayagada.

Taking part in the discussions, works department secretary Nalinikanta Pradhan requested the team from the ministry to sanction the road projects submitted by the state government.