By IANS
New Delhi : The Indian Railways will lay a railway line in Chhattisgarh to transport iron ore from Rowghat mines to the Bhilai steel plant located in the state, officials announced here Tuesday.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh met here Tuesday to decide on laying a railway line between Dalli-Rajhara, Rowghat and Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh to facilitate transportation of iron ore from Rowghat to Bhilai.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this eff3ect was signed here by the chairmen of Railway Board, Steel Authority of India Ltd and National Minerals Development Corp, and the chief secretary of Chhattisgarh.
Lalu Prasad said: “The new railway line project was included in the railway budget of 1995-96.” He also pointed out that the original MoU for the project was signed in 1998.
The project was a non-starter due to problems faced in the beginning in mining at Rowghat.
The proposed 235-km railway line is expected to cost Rs.9.68 billion at 2004-05 price levels, since the cost evaluation was finalised at that time.
Paswan said: “Whatever more it may cost due to inflationary trends will be met by the respective partners in the existing ratio.”
Welcoming the move, Raman Singh said: “This will not only help the iron and steel industry but also help the railways earn more revenue.”