Profitable ECoR bifurcation sparks political uproar and Discontentment over Odisha’s revenue loss; demands for compensation; merger of Odisha railway lines in SER and SECR into ECoR and Demand for Railway division at Rourkela

Nearly six years after the announcement of new South Coast Railway (SCoR), the build-up on its expeditious operationalisation has begun to fuel fear, concern and political outcry in Odisha over the bifurcation of East Coast Railway (ECoR), particularly the substantial revenue loss for the profit-making zone. While the SCoR zone headquartered at Visakhapatnam and its operational area are yet to be formally notified, a tender worth Rs 149 crore has recently been floated for construction of the zonal office building. The SCoR will have three divisions - Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal spanning the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (except Kurnool of Hyderabad division and Jaggaiahpet of Secunderabad division). As per the detailed project report (DPR) accepted by the Ministry of Railways, apart from the three divisions, SCoR will have a major portion of Waltair division, which is now entirely under ECoR. Waltair division will split into two and one part will merge with Vijayawada division. The other will be converted into a new division with headquarters at Rayagada under ECoR. Before the 2019 general elections, the Centre had given a go-ahead to the bifurcation plan for addressing administrative and operational challenges. It was seen as a bid to appease Andhra and now it is making the most of it. As the neighbouring state is eyeing all railway lines that fall within its boundary, Odisha may end up being on the losing side in the bifurcation of Waltair division. The division generates around Rs 10,250 crore annually, primarily from freight traffic linked to the mining and steel industries, and contributing significantly to ECoR’s revenue. Bone of contention The DPR reveals that of 1,106 km of railway route coming under Waltair, 450 km will be merged with Vijayawada division while of the rest 656 km, 541 km will be under Rayagada and 115 km under Khurda Road divisions. The ECoR has three divisions - Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Waltair. After bifurcation, SCoR will have rail routes measuring 3,496 km but ECoR will have to be satisfied with 2,321 km in changed circumstances. The new zone could actually have more railway lines if Palasa-Nuapada and Nuapada-Gunupur lines are retained in SCoR as proposed. The bone of contention, however, is the lucrative Kothavalasa-Kirandul Line (popularly known as KK Line) that comes under Waltair division. The 446-km KK Line runs through the mineral-rich regions of Odisha and Chhattisgarh. If a major portion of KK Line is transferred to SCoR, the ECoR will face significant revenue loss. Sources said the ECoR earns about Rs 29,000 crore annually and is expected to lose nearly Rs 6,000 crore if the freight corridor is handed over to SCoR. “The major source of revenue is Visakhapatnam area where Vizag steel and port are located apart from Gangavaram port. It will be delinked from ECoR and the revenue is expected to come down by more than 20 per cent. ECoR will also lose its dominance of being the number one income-generating zone of the Indian Railways,” pointed out Nirakar Das, a former railway employee. It has been proposed to split KK Line at Araku station and retain the 106 km Kothavalasa-Araku line with Vijayawada division while the rest 340-km Araku (excluding)-Kirandul will come under Rayagada division. According to the DPR, all track routes of Waltair division running within AP, barring a small part from Nuapada to Ichchapuram, will be in SCoR, but Rayagada will not have a direct approach from ECoR until the proposed Therubali-Gunupur new line is completed. The Centre has recently sanctioned the 73.62-km Gunupur-Therubali new line at a cost of Rs 1,326 crore and the project is expected to be completed by 2030-31. Odisha’s demands As the final SCoR notification is expected anytime soon, people in Odisha have demanded that the Waltair division be retained with ECoR and if it is not possible due to operational reasons then the railway sections that are now with South Eastern Railway (SER) and South East Central Railway (SECR) must be merged with ECoR to recompense the revenue loss. If the KK Line, along with Vizag Steel, Visakhapatnam and Gangavaram ports, is included in SCoR, then lines such as Jareikela-Bondamunda-Rourkela-Jharsuguda, Ib-Belpahar-Brajarajnagar, Bansapani-Barbil and Ranital-Rupsa-Bangiriposi should come under ECoR. A railway official said the loss of ECoR can be minimised only if the revenue generated from the mining belts of Odisha and Rourkela steel plant which are now under SER and SECR, are brought in. Moreover, Rayagada, being a new division, should have direct link with ECoR. “When Vijayawada division already has 964 km of railway line, what is the logic of adding 450 km more? If Vizianagaram can be added in Rayagada division, it will have a direct link with ECoR. The railway should also prepare a separate DPR for Rayagada and appoint a divisional manager to look after the issues,” said Das. However, the unresolved issue has fuelled public discontentment in the state. Opposing the Centre’s move to merge Waltair with SCoR, former Union minister Srikant Jena has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to fortify the ECoR, instead of dismantling its structure. The BJD has also raised the issue in the recently-concluded winter session of the Assembly. Senior BJD MLA and former minister Ranendra Pratap Swain demanded the Centre must clarify on its move to compensate the loss to be faced by Odisha. “The proposal was mooted in 2019 for reorganisation of the zones. We were then told that the proposed bifurcation plan would be properly examined and the state’s interest will be protected. Nothing was finalised then. The bifurcation is now being done surreptitiously without taking Odisha into confidence,” Swain told TNIE on Sunday. The senior BJD MLA said any attempt to bifurcate ECoR by dismantling Waltair division is a loss to Odisha. ECoR is the pride of the state. The Railway earns Rs 100 from ECoR by spending Rs 47 while they spend Rs 107 to earn Rs 100 from other zones, he said. “The Railway minister also represents the state. How can he do injustice to us? If they are doing it for political exigencies to appease Andhra Pradesh, why don’t they bifurcate the SER and merge the railway portions of Odisha in ECoR to compensate the loss? They must bring in the state’s railway lines from SER and SECR zones to form a new division at Rourkela. We would oppose the ECoR bifurcation move to protect the state’s interest,” Swain added In response, deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo said BJP MPs have already met Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and he had assured that railway lines in Odisha under ECoR will not go into the newly-created zone. A tender worth Rs 107 crore for the new divisional headquarter at Rayagada has also been floated, Singh Deo informed. Source - https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2024/Dec/16/ecor-bifurcation-sparks-political-uproar-over-odishas-revenue-loss-demands-for-compensation