Dharmendra, Pratap lock horns over coastal highway

BHUBANESWAR: Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state’s information and public relations minister Pratap Jena on Tuesday locked horns over the status of the proposed 451-km coastal highway project, which would connect Gopalpur in Odisha with Digha in West Bengal.
While Dharmendra accused chief minister Naveen Patnaik of conspiring to stall the project, fearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take credit, Jena said, the BJP-led government at the Centre is desperate to fast forward the tendering process of the Rs 9,000-crore project so that the BJP gets a major share to spend in the coming elections.

Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Dharmendra said acceding to piecemeal suggestions by the state government, the Centre approved the revised alignment of the project in July 2018 and hoped for cooperation from the state for expeditious commencement of the project but the state developed a cold feet.

Dharmendra said the National Highway Authority of India has been soliciting necessary forest and coastal regulation zone (CRZ) clearances from the state government to begin tendering and fast-track the project.

“However, the Odisha government has not been forthcoming in extending these clearances and has demanded another presentation of the alignment. Over the past few months, NHAI’s repeated pleas seeking dates for revised presentation are yet to be entertained by the state government,” he said. “Envious of Modi, the CM has done this deliberately. He fears the Modi government would take credit from the project,” he said.

“It is the height of hypocrisy by CM Odisha Sh. @Naveen_Odisha he writes a letter to PM demanding special category status for Odisha on one hand and on the other hand he is deliberately derailing infrastructure development projects in the state,” Dharmendra tweeted after the press conference.

Responding to Dharmendra, Jena said the Union minister doesn’t mind compromising with Odisha’s interest to collect funds for elections.

“The way the Centre wants to complete the road project, thousands of houses will be demolished and villages have to be shifted. The state government can’t allow that,” he said.

“The NHAI should place complete details of the project before the state government, discuss it threadbare before finalising on its alignment to cause minimum damage to villages. It must not be hastily done by the BJP dispensation to extract poll expenditure,” Jena added.

The coastal highway proposed to be constructed under Bhratmala Pariyojana of the central government would connect 178 villages in Odisha’s Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Odisha and East Medinipur in West Bengal.