Bhubaneswar, Feb. 3: The proposed wagon factory project at Sitapalli in Ganjam district is unlikely to take off as the central government has earmarked only Rs 1,000 for it in the Union budget. Sources said as there was no demand for wagons till 2020, the project would not take off right away, though it would remain a live project.

The proposed wagon factory at Sitapalli was announced by the then Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee in 2011-12. The project was supposed to be implemented in a public-private partnership mode. However, since the announcement of the project, only a notional amount has been earmarked for it, raising a question mark over Centre's sincerity for the project.

In the Union budget, Odisha has been allocated Rs 5,102 crore for the development of railways in the state against its demand of Rs 5,870 crore. This year's allocation is roughly 9 per cent more in comparison to last year's allocation which was Rs 4,682 crore.

One of the major allocations in the budget has been for the Khurda-Balangir railway project. The Centre has allocated Rs 700 crore for this. At present, the work for the 289-km railway line from Balangir to Khurda is going on in full swing.

Though the project was sanctioned in 1993 and its foundation stone was laid in June 2001, there was little progress in construction of this railway line till 2011. After the state stepped up its demand, the Centre started backing it seriously.

According to railway officials, the project is likely to be completed by 2021. In July 2016, Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu had inaugurated the Khurda Road and Begunia stretch of the project. The railway line will pass through Nayagarh, Boudh and Sonepur before terminating at Balangir, most of these among the state's most backward areas.

A model railway station for Bhubaneswar also remains a distant dream. The central government has given its nod only to build a passenger platform at the station along with a full-length shelter and extended foot overbridge.

In the backward Koraput-Balangir-Kalahandi region, the Centre has agreed to set up of an electric loco periodical overhauling workshop at an estimated cost of Rs 186.37 crore in Kalahandi. But it has only made a budgetary allocation of Rs 1 lakh for the project. The Centre also granted Rs 49 crore to set up a freight train maintenance and routine overhauling facility for freight wagons.

Among other things, an allocation of Rs 200 crore has been made for the Angul-Sukinda project. The project provides a crucial link from the Angul coal belt to the industrially-rich Kalinga Nagar. The Haridaspur-Pardip project has also been given Rs 200 crore.

Similarly, a budgetary provision of Rs 275 crore has been made for the Jeypore-Nabarangpur rail project and Rs 250 crore for Talcher-Bimalagarh rail project. Significantly, the Centre has granted Rs 79 crore for Jeypore-Malkangiri rail project. This project will pass through the Maoist-hit areas of the state.