The ambitious Dallirajhara-Rowghat railway line project in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, which was being touted as a harbinger of industrial progress and mining activities for the backward region, has hit a hurdle even before the commencement of work. The Chhattisgarh Government has refused to provide security cover demanded by the Indian Railways for the construction of the 235-km railway line, estimated to cost Rs 968.6 crore. Speaking to The Indian Express, Director General of Police Vishwaranjan has confirmed that the Government has expressed its inability to provide security personnel for the project. “As the state is already facing a shortage of security personnel we have asked the Railways to make its own security arrangements. We are already facing constraints as we are engaged in a battle against the Naxalites,” he added. Home Minister Ram Vichar Netam said the Government had demanded 70 additional battalions of central police forces to tackle the worsening Maoist situation in the state. “We can’t burden our police personnel any more by asking them to provide security for the construction work. The Centre should provide security cover for the project,” he asserted. A public-private partnership initiative, the MoU for the railway line was signed on December 11, 2007 between the Ministry of Railways, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC) and Chhattisgarh Government. It is not the first occasion that the railway line is under a cloud. The line was initially proposed over a decade ago and an MoU for the same was signed in 1998. But the project could not take off during the last decade due to the growing Maoist menace in the area. “The stretch falls within areas dominated by the Naxalites. The construction agencies just refused to work on the project as adequate security cover wasn’t provided,” official sources added. The existing Kirandul-Visakhapatnam railway line, used for transporting iron ore from NMDC’s mines in south Bastar to Visakhapatnam, has been repeatedly attacked by Naxalites. “Last year saw at least six major attacks on the line forcing a delay in operations,” official sources stated. The proposed Dallirajhara-Rowghat line passes through iron ore rich regions of Bailadila and Rowghat. “The new line will also facilitate the bulk transportation of forest products, in addition to transportation of ores and minerals. It will also provide employment opportunities to tribals and lead to development of backward areas of Bastar and Narayanpur in Chhattisgarh,” sources added. The project is proposed to be constructed in two phases. The Phase-I is 95 km from Dallirajhara to Rowghat whereas Phase-II is 140 km from Rowghat to Jagdalpur. Official sources said though the land acquisition process for Phase-I has already begun, it is scheduled to be completed in five years and SAIL will bear the entire cost of Rs 304 crore. The Phase-II will cost Rs 640 crore which will be shared by Indian Railways (Rs 376 crore) SAIL (Rs 141 crore), Chhattisgarh Government (Rs 76 crore) and NMDC (Rs 70 crore).
