MADURAI: Though the Railways floated tenders for the Madurai-Thoothukudi new broad gauge line works via Aruppukkottai in 2016, the state government has not passed a GO for land acquisition in Madurai and Virudhunagar for this project, said office bearer of Dakshin Railway Employees Union (DREW), Zonal Rail Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) and an RTI activist.
Varathan Ananthappan, an RTI activist, recently submitted a petition to the Public Information Officer of Virudhunagar seeking information regarding the gauge line work. In response, the officer said the district administration has received a land plan table from the Railways for acquiring 794.44 acres of land in the Kariyapatti and Aruppukottai areas. However, the district administration hasn't yet received any GO for acquiring lands for this project.
Speaking to TNIE, Varathan Ananthappan said the Railway had allotted `114 crore for the implementation of the broad gauge line between Madurai - and Thoothukudi in the month of February 2023. "Three district administrations, including Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Thoothukudi, need to expedite action for land acquisition and hand it over to the Madurai Division of Railway. Among the three districts, so far, the Thoothukudi district administration has marked 14 hectares of land for the project due to the intervention of MP Kanimozhi. Other MPs have not shown interest in this project. Indian Railways planned to freeze these projects due to delay in land acquisition, which was reflected in the recent parliamentary session," he added.
DREU joint secretary R Sankara Narayanan said Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P Moorthy, and Minister for Information Technology PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan hail from Madurai, whereas, two ministers -- KKSSR Ramachandran and Thangam Thennarasu -- hail from Virudhunagar. "But they have not taken any steps to implement this project. There are no direct long-route trains for the people of the Aruppukottai and Vilathikulam areas. If the project is implemented, it will be beneficial for these people. States like Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have separate state ministers for railways, due to which these states have executed such projects easily. In Tamil Nadu too, the chief minister must appoint a Minister for Railways in order to coordinate with the Railways and the state government for the smooth execution of this kind of project," he said.
Speaking to TNIE, ZRUCC member R Pandiyaraja alleged that without knowing the truth Madurai MP S Venkatesan and Virudhunagar MP S Manickam Tagore gave statements that the Railways has been delaying the implementation of the project. "It is a dream project for the people of Arupukottai and Vilathikulam, as it could increase economic development, employment opportunities, freight movements etc.," he pointed out.
An official from Railways said the project will be implemented between Thiruparankundram and Milavittan. "Southern Railway has completed 32.5 km of the 143.5 km new broad gauge line (Madurai - Thoothukudi). Of this, the 18.5-km stretch from Milavittan to Melamarudur was commissioned on March 2, 2022. Further, The Thoothukudi district administration received a GO for acquiring 330 hectares, which is under process. Whereas in the Virudhunagar and Madurai districts, to hand over the land of 340 hectares and 90 hectares respectively, a GO is yet to be issued. If both the administrations acquire the lands quickly, the project can be completed soon," he said.
He further clarified that officials in Zonal Railways have discussed that there won't be enough footfall of passengers in this section. However, at present, the Southern Railway hasn't received any communication from the Railway Board regarding the freezing of the project, he said.