East Coast Railway (ECoR) General Manager Indra Ghosh has responded ‘positively' to permissions sought by the GVMC for taking up work on the prestigious Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the Pendurti Corridor on railway land.
Municipal Commissioner B. Ramanajaneyulu on Friday met Mr. Ghosh at the East Coast Railway headquarters at Bhubaneshwar and discussed the issue threadbare.
The General Manager said the proposals would be forwarded to the Railway Board. He assured the Commissioner that he would try to get the approvals in 10 to 15 days.
An official statement issued by the GVMC said Mr. Ghosh agreed to a proposal to swap land in six slums on the railway land in lieu of allotment of double the land. However, Sevanagar and Omkarnagar could not be spared as the land was required for station development to facilitate arrival of more trains by constructing more platforms, Mr. Ghosh told the Commissioner.
Mr. Ramanjaneyulu assured him that they would be shifted by providing housing to them.
Land required
He sought a total of 8,934 sq m of land at Marripalem, between Jnanapuram and Convent Junction, between Allipuram and Dondaparti, and between Dondaparati and TSR Complex for widening of roads. Besides, a pipeline has to be laid across the railway track as part of the Rs.240-crore drinking water scheme for 32 villages merged in GVMC and at five points underground drainage sewerage lines had to be laid across the track. Mr. Ghosh said steps would be taken to get the approvals.
Chief City Planner D. Venkataratnam and Executive Engineer K.V.N. Ravi participated in the meeting.
