BHUBANESWAR: The Union Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved 130 km long Jeypore-Malkangiri New Line project at a completion cost of Rs 2,676.11 crore.
The railway project likely to be completed by 2021-22 will generate direct employment of about 31.2 lakh mandays during construction and cover left wing extremism (LWE) affected districts of Malkangiri and Koraput.
The proposed new line will connect Malkangiri, Boipariguda, Tanginiguda, Mathili, Pondripani Road and other major towns to Jeypore station on the existing Kottavalasa-Kirandul line.
At present Malkangiri has no connectivity with Railways. The new line will provide basic infrastructure support for overall development including industrial development of the area having large socio-economic ramifications.
Once the railway line is completed, the connectivity to important towns like Koraput, Jeypore, Jagdalpur, Dantewara will improve. It will also result in short lead to many other places of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.
The project will provide connectivity to this region and will help provide economic opportunities to the people of these regions. This will also help in combating left wing extremism through development.
In the first phase, the Centre has made a budgetary provision of Rs 95 crore for the project.
Malkangiri and Koraput are also amongst the 115 aspirational districts, which as per the clarion call given by the PM, will be developed to help achieve the vision of New India by 2022.