The Ministry of Railways has reported important delays in a number of railway infrastructure initiatives throughout West Bengal, primarily as a result of challenges in land acquisition, an official assertion stated.
Regardless of a considerable improve in funding, with allocations rising 3 times from ₹4,380 crore throughout 2009-14 to ₹13,941 crore in 2024-25, the tempo of undertaking execution stays hindered, the ministry assertion stated.
As of April 1, 2024, there are 43 railway initiatives in West Bengal, encompassing 4,479 km and costing ₹60,168 crore. These initiatives, which fall absolutely or partly inside West Bengal underneath the Japanese, South Japanese, and North East Frontier Railways, contain new strains and modernisation efforts.
Of those, 1,655 km have been commissioned, with a capex outgo of ₹20,434 crore as much as March 2024.
The ministry said that acquisition stays a major bottleneck as out of the overall 3,040 hectares required, solely 640 hectares (21 per cent) have been acquired, leaving a steadiness of two,400 hectares (79 per cent) but to be secured.
It stated the Railways acquires land for its initiatives by state governments.
Railways identified some key initiatives experiencing delays as a result of land acquisition points embody: Nabadwipghat-Nabadwipdham new line (10 km): requires 106.86 hectares; solely 0.17 hectares acquired. Chandaneshwar-Jaleswar new line (41 km): requires 158 hectares; no land acquired so far. Naihati-Ranaghat third line (36 km): requires 87.83 hectares; solely 0.09 hectares acquired. Balurghat-Hilli new line (30 km): requires 156.38 hectares; 67.38 hectares acquired. Bypasses at Sainthia (5 km) and Sitarampur (7 km): require 22.28 hectares; however solely 2.22 hectares could possibly be acquired.
The completion of railway initiatives is dependent upon varied components, together with immediate land acquisition by state governments, forest clearances, cost-sharing deposits, shifting of utilities, statutory clearances, geological and topographical situations, legislation and order conditions, and weather conditions affecting the variety of working months obtainable yearly, the ministry stated.
The ministry emphasises that whereas the federal government is ready to execute these initiatives, their success closely depends on the help and cooperation of the West Bengal authorities in expediting land acquisition processes, the assertion stated.
Railways stated to handle these challenges, the ministry has carried out measures equivalent to establishing Gati Shakti models, prioritising initiatives, rising fund allocations for precedence initiatives, delegating powers on the subject degree, intently monitoring progress, and recurrently coordinating with state governments and related authorities to expedite land acquisition and clearances.
