Railway projects in various States stuck since 20yrs due to land acquisition
Why important railway projects are stuck?
Why land worth Rs 8,000 crore not acquired?
CHENNAI: In an indication of the extent to which railway projects across the country are bogged down in delays, an internal note of the Railway Board circulated last week show that a sum of Rs. 8,000 crore transferred by Indian Railways to various state governments for land acquisition since 1997-98 is yet to translate into ownership on the ground.
Funds for land acquisition are unnecessarily locked due to a large number of court cases, the note stated. In the Southern Railway zone, at least Rs 200 crore has been released to the Tamil Nadu government in the last few years for this purpose without the land being transferred to the railways. This includes the much delayed last stretch of the Velachery-St Thomas Mount MRTS section, which is pending since 2008.
The note is based on the minutes of a meeting of financial heads of all zonal railways and the Financial Commissioner (FC) of the Railways on June 28. “The FC has directed all the financial heads not to release money to state governments towards the acquisition of land until the land is given to the railways,” a senior railway official said.
Other projects in Tamil Nadu stuck due to land acquisition include the fourth line between Chennai Beach and Attipattu, Madurai-Arupukkotai and Tindivanam-Nagari line. “Using railway funds, the state government has set up a land cell and even constructed offices. But nothing is moving on the ground,” said a Southern Railway official.
Apart from capacity addition projects, crucial safety works like laying of rail underbridges (RUBs)and road overbridges (ROBs) are also pending due to land issues. As reported earlier how 42 such projects in Tamil Nadu, including 22 in Chennai, are stuck since 2011.
The Chairman, Railway Board (CRB) has already written to chief secretaries of all states and cautioned that projects would be scrapped if the land was not expeditiously acquired. “Land acquisition delays increase the cost of projects and affect their viability. General managers have been empowered by the CRB to review non-remunerative projects,” a senior official said.
Southern Railway general manager R K Kulshrestha has also met chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan and discussed these issues in detail, but nothing happens yet in this regard.
Courtesy: TOI