Kerala to frame New Policy to acquire Land for Railway projects

Kerala to frame New Policy to acquire Land for Railway projects

Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to revive the railway-related projects that continue to be plagued by delays caused by the alleged neglect of the Union Ministry of Railways towards Kerala, the state government would formulate a new land acquisition policy to provide land to the Railways for implementing the proposals.

The draft, which would also propose to bear 50 per cent of the cost of the proposed track doubling works, will be placed before the Cabinet for approval in its next meeting. After getting the approval, detailed project estimates will be prepared, according to official sources.

The move came in the wake of the Railway Board’s to decision to exclude the proposals submitted by the state from the list of projects sent to the NITI Aayog for approval.

Inordinate delay in doubling tracks is said to be one of the major issues hampering the State’s railway development. The government needs to make required land available to the Railways for taking up track doubling works in the 30-kilometre stretch between Kayamkulam-Alappuzha-Ernakalum and in the Kottayam section. Citing fund crunch, the Railways has been demanding the State to provide land free of cost apart from bearing half of the total cost of the projects.

The central authorities have warned the State that its railway development would be in for a major setback if the government failed to complete the land acquisition process in a time-bound manner. The state would be able to put pressure on the Centre to allot new trains only after the completion of the pending track doubling works.

The Railway Board will hold a meeting of Members of Parliament to discuss development issues and problems relating to the sector by mid-November. The MPs would chalk out the future course of action seeking an end to the biased selection criterion allegedly followed by the Railway Board. Not a single proposal from the Southern Railways had figured in the list submitted by the Railway Board to the NITI Aayog for approval recently.

The state would also submit its recommendations and demands to be included in the next Rail Budget, the officials said.