Bhubaneswar: From Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, here came the big charge of stalling central projects in Odisha by the State Government of Naveen Patnaik.
The Minister on Saturday presented an account of the projects worth Rs 1, 37, 417 crores those are failing to make any headway. Mr. Pradhan said this is because “Odisha has an insensitive and inefficient government, which is not cooperating the Central government for the development of the state,”
“The Odisha Government has stalled around 5000 Km. Highway Expansion Plan projects in Odisha worth Rs56, 563 crores.” Said Mr. Pradhan and added that in the petroleum sector, the worth of projects that the Naveen Government has blocked is of Rs 51,395 crore. In railway, the Odisha Government has not given requisite clearance to Rs 12,286 crores of projects “creating hurdles in the development of railways and delaying the projects that would improve connectivity.”
Mr.Padhan has also mentioned the Odisha government’s poor performance in utilizing the Rs 6438 crore of the District Mineral Fund. Only Rs 1000 crore of it have been utilized, he said.
Describing the fate of the Rs 10,000 crore Coastal Highway project the minister alleged the Naveen Government of resorting to delaying tactics of reviewing its alignment.
Mr. Pradhan said, “The Coastal Highway Project can begin a new era of progress and development in the coastal region of Odisha and Eastern region of India but Odisha Government has been making changes in the alignment on Puri-Satpada and Konark – Astrang routes to delay the projects.” He pointed out that it is the present dispensation that has the objection in the alignment; it was not the case with the then dispensation.
Paradeep refinery expansion plan of Rs 2200 crore is not moving ahead because the state government is not providing the required 2290 acre land for it, said Mr. Pradhan. “The state government has not also allowed land for the Rs 1970cr for the textile park at Bhadrak.”
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