Paradip, Oct. 17: Land encroachment by the Sandhakuda slum dwellers on the outskirts of the port town has put brakes on the 9km-long coastal road project here.

The Rs 4.8-crore project aimed to provide connectivity to the upcoming oil refinery project and the proposed Posco steel plant, apart from facilitating cargo transportation to Paradip port.

It would also act as a surge protection wall as Paradip and the adjoining areas encounter ingress of tidal waves.

A major portion of the project stretching from the Hanuman temple to Sandhakuda colony is lying incomplete because of the squatters.

“The project had failed to take off as there was delay in forest and environmental clearance. Besides, sprouting up of unauthorised settlement over the earmarked road route has created a hurdle,” said additional district magistrate Surajit Das.

The project is being expeditiously undertaken shortly after clearance of encroachment hurdles.

An identified 144 families have been served eviction notices. In the event, if they refuse to voluntarily vacate the land, forcible eviction will be undertaken with due procedures of law, said an official.

“The identified families, unlawfully settling along the Sandhakuda slum clusters, are being evicted to expedite the construction of the project. It has now become imperative to provide the project, which is of national importance, with the required land,” said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallick.

“The encroachers have been served notices under the Orissa Prevention of Land Encroachment Act, 1972, asking them to vacate the unlawfully occupied land at the earliest,” said Mallick.