Mrunal Manmay Dash

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Monday dismissed two PILs challenging the selection of site for the Netaji Bus Terminus in Cuttack, effectively clearing the path for the State government to go ahead with the proposed project.

Rejecting to entertain the PILs, the HC ruled that the decision pertaining to the selection of site for the terminus comes under the policy decision of the State Government.

However, the court maintained status quo over the earlier ruling on the Smasankali Temple that falls under the project site.

Earlier, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a group of local residents on February 2, the court had directed the district administration to maintain status quo of all movable and immovable properties belonging to the temple.

"As an interim measure, it is directed that status quo in respect of the suit schedule land as stated above and as indicated in the Title Suit named above, shall be maintained till next listing," the HC ruled.

The temple is located almost in the middle of the 12-acre project site.

Notably, the new bus terminus which will be named after Netaji Subhash Bose, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 65 crore.

The bus terminal will come up on 12 acres of land and have modern facilities for passengers. As many as 180 buses can be parked at the terminal at any time. The three-storey terminal building will have waiting rooms for passengers, food court, cloakrooms, e-vehicle charging points, among other facilities.

Moreover, an Integrated Information Management system will be set up for the passengers.

An area of around 2 acres adjoining the proposed Netaji Bus terminal will be reserved for the development of commercial complex on public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

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