Land acquisition delays stall major road and infrastructure projects in East Singhbhum

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, Mar 6: The construction of four major roads, spanning 87.77 km, remains stalled in East Singhbhum due to land acquisition disputes. Additionally, the delay has impacted the construction of two Anganwadi centres and five health sub-centres, causing inconvenience to residents and escalating costs for the government.

The worst affected projects belong to the Road Construction Department, where land acquisition issues have left major roads incomplete. Two of these roads were approved in the 2018-19 financial year, but land acquisition remains unresolved. Another road was sanctioned in 2021-22, while the fourth was approved in 2022-23. Despite the Road Construction Department allocating compensation funds to the district land acquisition office, disputes have prevented the disbursement of funds, further delaying progress.

Among the stalled projects, the Kowali-Dumariya road widening project (32.80 km) was approved in 2018-19, requiring Rs 38.50 crore for land acquisition. Of this, only Rs 7.66 crore has been distributed so far, affecting landowners in 29 villages. Similarly, the Bhagabandhi-Odisha border road project (9.63 km), sanctioned in 2022-23 with a budget of Rs 60.59 crore, has not progressed due to pending reports from the zonal office.

The Potka-Kudada-Damudih road project (20.35 km), approved in 2021-22, requires Rs 6.73 crore in compensation, affecting 16 villages. Despite orders to correct and resend the proposal, work remains stalled. Meanwhile, the Gurra-Dhalbhumgarh road project (24.99 km), sanctioned in 2018-19 with a budget of Rs 58.23 crore, is pending due to land disputes in 11 villages.

In addition to road projects, the delay has affected infrastructure development under the Building Construction and Rural Works departments, halting eight rural roads, two Anganwadi centres and five health sub-centres.

Gunjan Sinha, District Land Acquisition Officer, acknowledged the ongoing issues, stating, “The work of land acquisition is getting hampered due to disputes or non-receipt of reports from the zonal office. The administration is making efforts to complete the land acquisition process by March 31 so that construction work can begin.”

Until the disputes are resolved, residents continue to face difficulties due to incomplete infrastructure and the financial burden on the government continues to grow.