MANGALURU: Land acquisition has not even begun for four major railway projects in Karnataka, with not a single hectare acquired for lines proposed between Belagavi-Dharwad, Shivamogga-Harihar, Whitefield-Kolar and Hassan-Belur, according to the Ministry of Railways.
Replying to a question raised by Hassan MP Shreyas Patel, the ministry said Belagavi-Dharwad new railway line (73 km) requires 581 hectares, none of which has been acquired so far. Similarly, 488 hectares needed for the Shivamogga-Harihar line (79 km), 337 hectares for the Whitefield-Kolar line (53 km), and 206 hectares for the Hassan-Belur new line (32 km) are yet to be acquired.
The only project among the five that has seen partial progress is the Shivamogga-Ranebennur new line (96 km), where 283 hectares have been acquired of the 559 hectares required, leaving another 276 hectares to be acquired.
Overall, Karnataka has acquired only 6,134 hectares of the 10,123 hectares required for ongoing railway projects, leaving 3,989 hectares or 39% of the total requirement still pending.
The ministry said that the Union Government is ready to execute railway projects, but their timely completion depends largely on the Karnataka government’s support in expediting land acquisition.
Further, it said the delays underline the need for faster action by the Karnataka government to make land available for railway infrastructure.
17 Projects under various stages
The Ministry of Railways said 17 railway projects falling fully or partly in Karnataka are currently under various stages of execution. These include major new line projects such as Munirabad-Mahabubnagar (247 km, Rs3,978 crore), Rayadurg-Tumakuru (207 km, Rs 4,565 crore), Tumakuru-Davanagere (182 km, Rs2,142 crore), Gadag-Wadi (257 km, Rs 3,668 crore), Bagalkot-Kudachi (142 km, Rs 1,694 crore) and Dharwad-Belagavi (73 km, Rs 927 crore).
The ongoing works also include capacity enhancement projects such as the Hospet-Hubballi-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco-da-Gama doubling (Rs 4,730 crore), Ballari-Chikjajur doubling (Rs 3,342 crore), Baiyyappanahalli-Hosur doubling (Rs 1,160 crore), Yeshwanthpur-Channasandra doubling (?684 crore), Secunderabad-Wadi third and fourth line (Rs 5,012 crore), Guntakal-Wadi third and fourth line (Rs 4,758 crore) and Ballari-Hosapete third and fourth line (Rs 2,372 crore), aimed at improving rail connectivity and easing congestion across the region.
