The state’s nodal agency for land acquisition- Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation of Odisha (Idco) and mining PSU Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) will form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for developing a common corridor for rail, water and power in the coal rich Angul-Chhendipada-Talcher region.
“The SPV called Mahanadi Railways will be floated by Idco and OMC and it will be a public limited company. The government has already given its approval for the SPV,” said an official source.
RITES Ltd, the engineering and consultancy arm of Indian Railways, has been asked to prepare the alignment plan for the rail corridor within a month. The common corridor will support 10 blocks operating in the Talcher Coalfields under the command area of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).
The development of the 143-km corridor is estimated to cost Rs 5,000 crore and it is expected to handle coal traffic in excess of 100 million tonnes annually. The common corridor will be connected to rail heads at three locations- Jharpada, Angul and Budhapanka. It will have multiple entry and exit points and no surface crossing. Besides, flyovers have been proposed to avoid cross movements at junction stations.
The project is designed to have multi-point centralised loading stations conceived along the corridor rather than individual bulb connections with a view to avoid interference or wastage of coal bearing areas. Road and water pipe alignment will run parallel to rail alignment. More than 50 industries in sectors like steel, aluminium and power sectors are expected to be the beneficiaries of this corridor.
It may be noted, a number of power and steel companies, which have been allotted coal blocks in the area, are facing resistance with regard to land acquisition for construction of private railway sidings. The construction of a common corridor is expected to overcome the problem. A similar corridor is also being considered for the Ib valley region.
The state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik has asked Idco to call the coal block allocatees of Ib valley for a meeting to develop this plan. Patnaik has also asked the State Pollution Control Board to have consultations with scientists and experts for examining different environmental issues relating to filling of mining voids by fly ashes.
