Bhubaneswar: A delegation of MPs from Odisha led by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Railway Minister
Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday, seeking early allotment of the long-pending railway land to Railway Employees Cultural Association (RECA) at Kharagpur.
It pertains to 5,915 sq metres of railway land in the New Settlement area of Kharagpur, which has been under the use of RECA for several decades.
According to the memorandum, the matter has been pending for over three decades. In 1999, a group of Odisha MPs had written to the then Prime Minister on the matter, while the late Union Minister Debendra Pradhan also took it up with the Railway Ministry. Local railway officials, including the Divisional Railway Manager of South Eastern Railway, Kharagpur, have recommended the regularisation, it added.
The MPs urged the Railway Minister to treat the matter as a special case and ensure early allotment, stating that a permanent solution will benefit railway employees from different states residing at Kharagpur.
“.. The association has been working to promote cultural unity, social welfare, and Odia heritage among railway employees in the multilingual town of Kharagpur. Our demand was that the Railway Department should provide help and support to those people… The Railway Minister will consider it and act accordingly…,” Dharmendra told ANI after the meeting.
Over the years, RECA has developed key welfare infrastructure on the site, including a school, Jagannath Temple, and various community facilities.
