By Express News Service
BHUBANESWAR: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said the proposed 450 km coastal coastal highway project from Gopalpur in Odisha to Digha in West Bengal and the 250 km ring road around Bhubaneswar will take the State’s economy and tourism sector to new heights.
Outlining the achievements of NDA Government in the last four years with special reference to Centre’s contribution to Odisha, Pradhan said the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is all set to float tender for the first phase work of coastal highway soon.“In all probability, tendering process will start before Rath Yatra and work on the project will follow soon,” the Union Minister said during an interactive session with mediapersons here.
On the proposed ring road which will provide an alternative communication bypassing Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Pradhan said the State Government has already accepted the NHAI proposal in-principle for the by-pass road from Jankia near Khurda to Chhatia in Jajpur district.
Similarly, a proposal to connect the National Highway at Chhatia to the proposed coastal highway near Astarang in Puri is under active consideration of the NHAI. The outer ring road and coastal highway circuit will not only boost the economy but also promote tourism in a big way, he added.
Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept his words by generously providing Central assistance to the State, Pradhan said the total investment made during the last four years was about `2,86,836 crore of which `1,34,780 crore was in petroleum sector.
The Centre has provided over `60,000 crore for infrastructure development which includes `20,213 crore for expansion of railway network and system improvement. The allocation for railway sector is five time more than that of the assistance the State received from the UPA-II from 2009 to 2016.
Boasting that IOCL’s oil refinery at Paradip is the major achievement of NDA Government, Pradhan said several other projects including polypropylene plant with an investment of `3,150 crore and pet coke gasification and downstream synthetic ethanol plant at an estimated cost of `11,000 crore have been lined up.Highlighting some of the major initiatives taken up by the Centre in the civil aviation sector, he said apart from providing air connectivity at an affordable cost to some unserved areas of the State including Jharsuguda, Rourkela, Utkela and Jeypore the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has initiated the process to develop a second international airport near Khurda for which lad has been identified.
Responding to a query on the State Government’s demand for special category status, Pradhan said the issue has lost relevance after devolution of more funds to the states under 14th Finance Commission.
Pradhan questions Naveen’s silence on Ratna Bhandar keys
Bhubaneswar: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday slammed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for his silence over the issue of missing keys of Ratna Bhandar of Sri Jagganath temple in Puri. In a scathing attack on the Chief Minister, Pradhan said institution of a judicial inquiry is not the answer to controversy surrounding the disappearance of keys. It is an attempt to cover up the inefficiency of the State Government in proper management of temple administration. What is baffling is the silence of the Chief Minister even after knowing that the keys are missing since two months, he said and added that the judicial inquiry should not be a method for the State Government to misguide people and escape from its responsibility.
Boost for tourism
● A 250 km ring road around Bhubaneswar also proposed
● The ring road which will provide alternative communication bypassing Bhubaneswar and Cuttack
● By-pass road will be laid from Jankia near Khurda to Chhatia in Jajpur district
● Proposal to connect Chhatia NH to coastal highway near Astarang in Puri under consideration
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