BJD flays BJP for neglecting coastal highway project
Bhubaneswar: The Opposition BJD on Tuesday criticised the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and alleged that non-execution of the ambitious coastal highway project is a 'betrayal' by the 'double engine sarkar'. The BJD vice-president and former minister Sanjay Das Burma said this at a press conference here following the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recently cancelling the tender for a patch of road work under the project.
'Non-execution of the coastal highway for a decade and the recent cancellation of the tender has pushed the future of this project to uncertainty and we demand the State government to take up the matter with the Centre,' Das Burma told reporters. Stating that the foundation stone of the coastal highway project under the Sagarmala project was laid way back in 2015 by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, the BJD leader said the annulment of tender of the proposed coastal highway was nothing but a 'betrayal' by the double-engine BJP governments at the Centre and in Odisha.
Das Burma claimed that the detailed project report (DPR) for the coastal highway in Odisha had been changed thrice and repeated cancellation of tender makes the future of the project 'uncertain'. The BJD leader also raised questions on the move to make the coastal highway road two-lane instead of the original plan to construct four-lane road.
The tender annulment notice issued by the Manager (tech) of NHAI-Odisha circle attributed the cancellation to administrative reasons.
'From the beginning, it was said the highway, to be built under this project, would be four-lane and tenders were also called accordingly.
However, after the re-evaluation of the project, it has been reported that it will be made two-lane, which is completely unacceptable,' the BJD leader said.
The 346 km coastal highway was planned as an alternative and parallel carriageway to the existing NH-16. The project was prepared to connect from Gopalpur in Odisha's Ganjam district to Digha in West Bengal.
The BJP leaders were not immediately available for comment on the BJD's allegations.
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