VIJAYAWADA: The State government has decided to constitute a task force with officials of Railway, Revenue and Roads and Buildings Departments to resolve the issues pertaining to land acquisition for the early completion of railway projects.
Taking stock of the progress of railway projects at a review meeting held at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed the officials to complete all the ongoing railway project works at the earliest.
Mentioning the assurance given by the Union Railway Minister to the State that the ministry is ready to take up railway project works worth Rs 72,000 crore, he asked the officials to ensure the speedy completion of the projects.
Seeking information for the delay in execution of some project works, the Chief Minister made several suggestions to the officials to avoid further delay. Observing that several projects did not move forward due to the policies adopted by the previous government, Naidu directed the officials to initiate steps to complete all such projects on time.
He made it clear that the Kotipalli-Narasapur railway line should be completed within four months. He gave his consent for the immediate release of Rs 20 crore to acquire 11 acres of land for the Nadikudi-Srikalahasti railway line. The officials were also asked to take up the Sattupalli-Kovvur line soon after completing the land acquisition.
Naidu is of the opinion that a decision should be taken on the Kadapa-Bengaluru railway line after a detailed discussion since some changes are made in its alignment. All the ongoing railway projects should be completed within three years and the lane doubling works should be over in four years. “Rapid growth can be achieved if the infrastructure projects are completed by interlinking rail, road and air networks,” the Chief Minister felt.
Roads and Buildings Minister BC Janardhan Reddy, officials of the Railway and various wings of the State government attended the meeting.