Mahagenco to partner in building rail corridor in Chhattisgarh

THE MAHARASHTRA government is set to partner an initiative for the construction of a rail corridor in Chhattisgarh. The 270-km long Katghora-Dongargarh proposed rail corridor is being planned for transporting coal.

The state Cabinet on Tuesday sanctioned a proposal permitting state-run power generation arm, Mahagenco, to partner and invest capital in an special purpose vehicle (SPV) involving the Chhattisgarh Rail Corporation Limited and the South Eastern Coalfields Limited.

The Centre has allocated a coal mine to Mahagenco in Chhattisgarh’s Gare Palma Sector 2. According to the understanding, Mahagenco will hold 26 per cent stake in the SPV. While the total cost of building the rail line is Rs 4,820 crore, the SPV has plans to raise loans for about 80 per cent of the project cost. The three agencies will bear the remaining cost. The Cabinet on Tuesday permitted Mahagenco to infuse a capital of Rs 250 crore in the project.

While the Chhattisgarh coal mine is expected to yield 24 million metric tonne of coal per annum, Mahagenco is yet to undertake mining at the facility owing to lack of environmental clearance. But the government is hopeful of bagging the green nod soon, and has already started drawing up plans for the transportation of the coal.

In 2015, the Centre had allocated the coal block to Mahagenco for a 30-year period, following a bidding process. According to state’s energy department officials, the new rail corridor, once commissioned, will provide for a parallel transportation route to the otherwise busy Jharsuguda-Nagpur and Jharsuguda-Rajnandgaon rail routes.

In another decision, the Cabinet cleared a proposal for setting up of a new police commissionerate in the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal area. Pune’s Guardian Minister Girish Bapat, however, admitted later that the land required to establish the commissionerate is yet to be identified.