M. Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, on Saturday slammed Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd. (RVNL) for the delay in executing the work on track doubling and electrification of lines from Wadi to Solapur passing through Gulbarga Railway Station.
At a review meeting here, he criticised RVNL officials for the slow progress in executing the works allotted to them. They were sanctioned more than two years ago and the progress had been negligible.
At one stage, Mr. Kharge threatened that he would raise the issue in the Lok Sabha through a starred question and adopt other means to speed it up. The officials said that tenders had not been called for taking up the electrification of the track from Kalaburagi to Solapur and the work on the electrification of the line from Wadi to Kalaburagi was expected to be completed by December 2017.
“I do not have words to express my indignation over the inordinate delay…you [RVNL officials] give me a note on the latest position of the work and I will take up with the Railway Board as well as the Railway Minister…this is unacceptable.”
Officials of South Central Railway (SCR) told Mr. Kharge that the ongoing work on the Kalaburagi-Bidar rail line would be completed by March first week next year and would be ready for inauguration.
The work was scheduled to be completed by the end of December. But owing to technical problems encountered in the drilling of a tunnel at Margutti, the work had been delayed. The tunnel was flooded following the recent heavy rain and it took 15 days to remove the water.
Narayan Rao, chief engineer, SCR, said that the Railway Ministry had approved the revised estimated cost of Rs. 1,542 crore for the Kalaburagi-Bidar project. He requested Mr. Kharge to persuade the State government to release its pending share of Rs. 180 crore as per the old estimate to ensure that the work did not get delayed owing to want of funds.
While the Railways had released Rs. 600 crore so far, the government had released only Rs. 422 crore. Mr. Kharge said that the district administration should challenge the orders passed by the lower courts to release high compensation to people who lost their land for the Kalaburagi-Bidar project. He pointed out that the government had been asked to pay the compensation on sq. ft basis instead of acre-basis.
“No where land acquisition cases are decided on sq. ft basis and the district administration should challenge this in the High Court.”
The officials said that the work on the rail overbridge near Mother Theresa School on new Jewargi Road and on Kalaburagi-Afsalpur road would be completed by December. Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil and Deputy Commissioner Ujwalkumar Ghosh were present.
