Lok Sabha Question No. 39 (STARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Dalli Rajhara-Jagdalpur-Rawghat Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Deepak Baij

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION No.39

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2021

## DALLI RAJHARA-JAGDALPUR-RAWGHAT RAILWAY LINE

†*39. SHRI DEEPAK BAIJ: :

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  present  status  of  under  construction  Dalli  RajharaJagdalpur-Rawghat railway line under East Coast Railway;
- (b) the time when the construction work of the said railway line had started;
- (c) the length of the railway line in kilometres constructed so far along with the length of railway line still to be constructed;
- (d) whether the construction work of this railway line is going at a very slow pace and the people have been deprived of train facility as a result thereof; and
- (e)  the  initial  cost  of  this  project  along  with  its  present  cost with cost overrun and the factors responsible for the same?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMERCE & INDUSTRY AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD & PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.39 BY SHRI DEEPAK  BAIJ TO BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  03.02.2021  REGARDING  DALLI RAJHARA-JAGDALPUR-RAWGHAT RAILWAY LINE (a)  to  (c)  Railway  has  taken  up  construction  of  DallirajharaRowghat-Jagdalpur rail line project which was included in budget 1995-96  .  A  Memorandum  of  Understanding  for  sharing  the  cost with  the  Ministry  of  Steel  and  the  State  Government  of  Madhya Pradesh was finalized on 2 nd  April 1998.  Project has been taken up in two phases. Phase-I -Dallirajhara-Rowghat (0- 95 km) and PhaseII-Rowghat-Jagdalpur(95-  235  km).  Phase  I  between  DallirajharaRowghat  (95km)  is  being  executed  by  RVNL  through  funding  by SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited). Phase II between Rowghat Jagdalpur  (140  km)  has  been  planned  for  execution  through  SPV named Bastar Railway Private Limited (BRPL) consisting of Government  of  Chhattisgarh,  SAIL,  National  Mineral  Development Corporation (NMDC) and IRCON.   The present status of the project is as under: (1)  Work  on  Phase-I  Dallirajhara-Rowghat  (95  Km)  portion  was started in 2010.  The work from Dallirajhara to Antagarh (60 Km) has been completed. 35 km work is balance between Antagarh to

- Rowghat.
- (2)  Phase-II  Rowghat-Jagdalpur  (140  Km)  is  being  executed  by IRCON through Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV), named Bastar Railway Private Limited (BRPL) . Land acquisition and forest land diversion for this phase is in process.  Financial closure of project is in process.                                                                      ……..2/-

d)  The  completion  of  any  Railway  project  depends  on  various factors  like  quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest clearance by forest department, statutory clearances from various authorities,  geological  and  topographical  conditions  of  area,  law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year due to climatic considerations, cooperation of all parties for early completion of project etc. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project.

e)  The  initial  MoU  for  execution  of  the  project  was  signed  on  2 nd April  1998  amongst  Ministry  of  Railways,  Government  of  Madhya Pradesh,  Steel  Authority  of  India  Limited  and  National  Mineral Development Corporation. However the project could not be taken up for want of clearance under Forest Conservation Act, 1980 for the Rowghat Mining Projects of SAIL. Revised MoU was signed on 11 th   December 2007 amongst Ministry of Railways, Government of Chhattisgarh, Steel Authority of India Limited and National Mineral Development  Corporation.  The  anticipated  cost  of  the  project  in this period increased to ₹ 968.6 Cr at price level of 2004-05 from abstract cost of ₹ 369 Cr in 1995-96.

Phase-I-  Dallirajhara-Rowghat  (95  km)  :  The  abstract  cost  of  the project for Phase I  was ₹ 134.96 Cr which increased to ₹ 304.3 Cr at the time of signing of MoU in Dec 2007. The latest anticipated cost of the project is ₹ 1622 Cr. Work on this portion was started in 2010.  The work from Dallirajhara to Antagarh (60 Km) has been

completed. Work has been taken up between km 60 to Km 80 and Km 93 to Km 95, where land is available. Work from km 80 to km 93 will  be  taken  up  after  handing  over  of  encumbrance  free  land  to Railway by Government of Chhattisgarh. Government of Chhattisgarh  has  to  handover  forest  land  in  4.76  km  length  after tree  cutting  (1043  Nos.)  and  27.54  ha  private  land  in  km  89-93. Project area is LWE (Left Wing Extremism) affected and work has to be taken up under dedicated Security cover. Daily mobilization and  demobilization  of  man  and  machinery  is  required  due  to security reasons. This leaves only few daylight hours for working. Non  handing  over  of  complete  encumbrance  free  land  by  State Government/Forest  department,  and  law  &  order  problem  in  the area has delayed the project. The above factors have led to time and cost overruns for this project.

Phase-II-  Rowghat-Jagdalpur(140  Km)-  The  abstract  cost  of  the project for Phase II was ₹ 234.04 Cr and latest anticipated cost of this phase is ₹ 2539 Crore. The project involves acquisition of 320 Ha private land, 47 Ha. Govt. land and 409 Ha. Forest land diversion and land acquisition is under process. Financial closure of project is in process. These issues have led to delay in execution.

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