Biju Expressway hits funds roadblock

BHUBANESWAR: One of the major projects of the State government, the Biju Expressway is languishing due to want of adequate budgetary support. The project, announced in the 2014 election manifesto of the ruling BJD, was supposed to be completed in phases by 2024. The first phase has already been delayed by three years and the project cost has escalated to around Rs 5,000 crore. 

In March last year, the State Cabinet had approved a provision of Rs 448.02 crore for construction and widening of the Biju Expressway. Official sources said due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all economic activities came to a standstill and the required budgetary provisions could not be made for the project. However in the 2022-23 budget, Rs 300 crore provision was made for the project. Sources said the actual budgetary provision for the project can only be decided in the full budget which is scheduled to be placed in July 2022. 

The 2022-23 budget was estimated at Rs 2 lakh crore. However, the State government passed a vote of account of Rs 1,06,498 crore due panchayat and urban local body elections. Works Minister Prafulla Mallik, however, said work on the Biju Expressway is underway in full swing and will be completed in time. Though construction activities were allowed throughout the pandemic period, work slowed down during the lockdown, but  has picked up momentum now. The first phase of the project will be completed soon, he informed.

In the first phase, 254 km road  of the project will be converted into four lanes and 402 km into two lanes. In the second phase, 258 km will be made four-lane. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had inaugurated the Sambalpur-Rourkela part of the project in March, 2018.

Mandated to provide four-lane connectivity in western Odisha and KBK districts of the State, the project was estimated at Rs 3,630 crore. The project, starting at Chandili in Koraput district up to Rourkela, will cover Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur and Koraput districts. Out of 650.64 km length of the expressway, 183.20 km comes under highways which are being being developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and State highway wing.