NEW DELHI: In a bid to ensure connectivity to coal fields to ensure fuel supply to power plants, railways has sought Cabinet approval for construction of two crucial rail links in Chhattisgarh. Both these projects have been pending for long.
The proposed rail links —122-km Gevra Road-Pendra Road and 63-km Raigarh (Mand colliery)-Bhupdeopur stretches — is part of an ambitious project aimed at ensuring smooth movement of freight, including coal.
The Cabinet's approval has also been sought for doubling of 248-km-long Palanpur-Samakhiali link, which will help industries in Gujarat's Kutch area to transport goods in time.
The project is expected to cater to immense potential of bulk traffic from port as well as from the Kutch region.
For Chhattisgarh projects, railways had signed MoU with state government and South Eastern Coalfields for construction of about 300 km of rail network.
The projects — East Corridor and East-West Corridor — would come up at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore. The East Corridor will be about 180 km, stretching from Bhupdeopur-Gharghoda-Dharamjaygarh upto Korba and the 122-km-long East-West Corridor will be from Gevra Road to Pendra Road.
The move came at a time when coal ministry had warned of severe shortage of the mineral for thermal power plants across the country, if railway links to connect coal fields in Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are not completed within next three years.
The Mand Raigarh coalfield also holds a potential of 100 metric tonnes per annum.
The coal ministry has been arguing that it would not be possible for the Coal India Limited (CIL) to achieve either the targeted production of 615 million tonnes of coal by 2016-17 or any incremental coal production during the 12th Five Year Plan if the rail tracks in coal-producing states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha are not put in place within the next three years.
It was pointed out that western states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat will suffer if the proposed railway line in Chhattisgarh does not materialize.
The delay in getting clearances for these rail lines has left the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) worried. According to sources, the PMO has given direction to fast track the construction of these railway tracks.
Railways seeks Cabinet nod for two key links to Chhattisgarh
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Railways seeks Cabinet nod for two key links to Chhattisgarh
