Meeting on power line for electric trains inconclusive

Mysuru-Bengaluru inter-city service a non-starter

June 23, 2018 12:25 am | Updated 09:00 am IST - MYSURU

 A file photo of the MEMU service between Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna and Ramanagaram stations. In the absence of a power line to feed the main track, Railways cannot introduce a MEMU service on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section.

A file photo of the MEMU service between Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna and Ramanagaram stations. In the absence of a power line to feed the main track, Railways cannot introduce a MEMU service on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section.

The meeting of senior officials of the South Western Railways, Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) and Infrastructure Development Department to resolve the impasse over the 220 kV transmission line for traction power supply on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section, has been inconclusive.

The meeting held early this week was convened to thrash out a solution to the delay in taking up a 4-km power line to be drawn over private land from Yeliyuru substation to Tubinakere in Mandya district by the KPTCL.

Though the railway authorities deposited the advance amount of nearly ₹13.09 crore way back in March 2017, the work has been stalled owing to right of way issues as farmers are demanding compensation without the settling of which the work cannot proceed.

In the absence of the power line to feed the main track, Railways cannot introduce Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMU) on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section due to voltage issues. The electrified section was inaugurated in February this year and though long-distance trains towards Chennai and beyond are hauled by electric locomotives, the daily commuters do not have the benefit of MEMU suburban trains without the additional 220 kV power line.

No commitment from any representative

Railway officials who attended the meeting told The Hindu that there was no commitment from any of the State government representatives to address the issue within a definite time frame. Drawing a power line entails installing large towers on private lands and in all, 23 such towers have to be installed over a four km stretch.

From the KPTCL’s point of view, the Right of Way (RoW) can be resolved through the intervention of the Revenue Department and hence they argued that the onus was on the Deputy Commissioner of Mandya to speed up the process. “We sought a direction from the State government to the Mandya DC and we were assured that a letter would be written but that was about it,” said the railway officials who were exasperated over the lack of urgency.

Compensating farmers

Farmers, whose land stands to be affected, have quoted random figures and though the Railways are prepared to pay the compensation, the process should be initiated by the Revenue Department.

Officials said the issue of compensating farmers for land acquisition is always mired in litigation. In case of compensation for laying power transmission lines, the authorities follow the provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. Computing the compensation amount is dicey as a portion of the land can still be used for agriculture purposes.

However, there are restrictions on usage of land underneath the line and the tower base area (between the four legs of the pylon or the tower structure) and thus there is a diminution of the land value. This has to be computed by the Revenue Department to the satisfaction of the affected farmers but the process has been a non-starter as of now. So, the wait for suburban electric trains on the Mysuru-Bengaluru section will be indefinite.

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