RailEnquiry

The key Dalli Rajhara-Rowghat railway line in Chhattisgarh, languishing for the last three decades, got a fresh boost Sunday with the state government asking all the stakeholders to finish their share of work to complete this project at the earliest. The 95 km-long stretch of the 235 km-long Dalli Rajhara-Jagdalpur Rail project is considered to be the future lifeline of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) subsidiary Bhilai Steel Plant in terms of feeding high quality iron ore from Rowghat mines as its present source, Dalli Rajhara mines, is depleting fast. Talking to IANS Sunday, state Chief Secretary Sunil Kumar said: "For the timely execution of this vital project, hanging fire for the last three decades, concerted efforts are needed from all the stakeholders." "The state government too will provide all help including security cover to the construction agency for its completion," he added. The chief secretary Saturday held a meeting at the state secretariat to discuss the hindrances impeding the progress of the project which is facing stiff resistance from not only Maoist insurgents but also affected people demanding suitable employment and adequate compensation. Principal Secretary, Home N.K. Aswal, Principal Secretary, Forest, Sunil Kujur, Revenue Secretary B.L. Agrawal, Additional Director General of Police (Naxal (Maoist) operations) Ramniwas, South East Central Railway General Manager Arunendra Kumar, Bhilai Steel Plant CEO Pankaj Gautam, collectors of Balod and Kanker districts and senior forest and police officials were present in the meeting. Sunil Kumar also took the stock of the affected villages of the project and directed the officials to ensure proper resettlement and employment to the people living there. According to officials present in the meeting, work on the the Dalli Rajhara-Rowghat stretch is progressing well as forest cover is being cleared and rehabilitation work in Balod and Kanker districts is also underway. The chief secretary directed the forest and revenue departments, the railways and SAIL to appoint special nodal officers to give momentum to the project and assured adequate security cover to deal with left wing extremism prevalent in the area.