Railway Infrastructure in PPP Mode

Dear Honorable Chief Minister Mr Patnaik,

Expecting an early recovery from your ankle injury, I am pleased that you have been consistent while raising the railway interest of the state, while a 20-member assembly delegation led by Speaker Pradip Amat and a number of MPs from Odisha met railway minister taking various demand of the state recently.

However, beside all these efforts mining companies should be persuaded to develop internal infrastructure in railway through PPP mode. Many mining companies are engaged in Australia, Brazil, etc to develop local railway infrastructure while exploring for mining & metal industries, in Odisha such practice is being limited to port connectivity and eastern part of the state, whereas backward and mining regions are rarely getting any benefit in terms of railway infrastructure.

With the current speed of railway development, especially in KBK-Kandhamal-Boudh-Gajapati districts, it is doubtful whether connecting all these districts in this region with the state capital will ever be possible in next 50 years. Few innovative proposals are urgently required for speed expansion of railway infrastructure in this region.

For instance NALCO and RSB Metaltech Ltd have major interests for alumina in Damanjodi in Koraput and Kalyansingpur in Rayagada and are, respectively, engaged for aluminum smelters and parks in Angul and Dhenkanal. These companies are required to transport their minerals/coals from Damanjodi/Kalyansingpur to Angul/Dhenkanal and vice versa. Constructing Lanjigarh road - Phulbani-Talcher railway line will at least reduce 100 km for NALCO for its mineral transportation from Damanjodi to Angul and vice versa.

Similarly RSB Metaltech Ltd will be benefited from this railway line when the company will link Kalyansingpur with Lanjigarh via Ambadola. Lanjigarh-Ambdola railway link is already constructed by Vedanta Aluminum Limited (VAL). It will be wise to engage the above three companies to construct  Lanjigarh road - Phulbani- Talcher railway line, which is under survey, through PPP mode.

This line will boost backward Kandhamal district most and bring it to the railway map by directly connecting with the state capital. Other regions like Kalahandi, Nuapada, Titilagarh (Balangir dist), Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts will be also directly get rail connectivity with Bhubaneswar as this line joins Khurda road-Balangir line near Puruna Cuttack (or Charichok). Thus, along with Khurdha road-Balangir line this line would facilitate most of the KBKK districts to have direct link with state capital which will helping in eliminating their remoteness. Kandhamal district may also receive some industrial investment such as for thermal plant if it is directly linked with Angul and Talcher by railway.     

On the other side, NALCO, Utkal Alumina and L&T are planning their aluminum plants in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Sundergarh regions but their major mining interests are located around Kashipur, Thuamul Rampur, Dasmantpur and Damanjodi. A railway line connecting Damanjodi-Dasmantpur-Kashipur-Karlapat-Bhawanipatna-Kesinga will be of their interest to link their refineries and smelters cum Aluminum Parks in a shortest possible way. This will also bring Dasmantpur, Karlapat, Kashipur, Thuamul Rampur etc which are rich in minerals, one of the highest bauxites deposits in Asia, and known for their touristic opportunities to the railway map by creating infrastructure development in the backward pockets and making a win-win business opportunities for the Government, local people and mining companies, thus, such possibilities in KBKK region should be given high priority. NALCO, Utkal Alumina, Vedanta Aluminum Limited, RSB Metaltech, L&T etc should be engaged while signing the MoU and there after as a precondition to participate in railway development in the local region.

I am optimistic you will look into this matter and take the issue to railway ministry, ECOR and concerned mining companies.

Thanking you

Best regards

Digambara Patra

NOTE: It was copied to railway ministry and chief secretary of Odisha.