The prospects for the Mysuru-Kushalnagar railway line are dim until the State government foots 50 per cent of the project cost besides acquiring land for the railways.
At the Gati Shakti unit meeting held to review the progress of various railway projects here on Wednesday the railway authorities informed that the Final Location Survey (FLS) has been completed and the detailed project report will be submitted to the Ministry of Railways in due course.
The revised cost of the project has been pegged at ₹3097 crore while the rate of returns is on the negative side making it economically unfeasible.
In an interaction during the meeting, Mysuru MP Pratap Simmha queried the railway official about the status of the State government’s contribution and drew a blank from the authorities.
For, the project hinges on the State government acquiring land from the farmers and handing it over to the railways free of cost besides pitching in with 50 per cent of the construction cost. In reply to a question by the media persons Mr. Simmha said that the prospects of the project taking off were dim in case the State Government did not evince interest in it.
‘’From my side, I have done all that needs to be done and the railway authorities will submit the final location survey to the ministry. It is up to the State government to take it forward’’, said Mr. Simha while displaying skepticism about the project materialising in the near future. Besides, the delay in project execution will send the cost spiralling upwards making it even more unfeasible. While the original cost was pegged at around ₹1800 crore when the project was approved in 2018-19 budget, it was now Rs.3100 crore. The project with a route length of 87 km, requires nearly 558 hectares of land as well.
Mr. Simmha observed in the interaction that State government had not evinced interest in new tracks through joint ventures and would rather have the railways meet the entire cost. Besides, improvements in roads and public transportation have made railways less popular for short distance travel, he added.
The project was pushed by Mr. Simmha to bring Kodagu on the railway map of India as the district is not connected by railways but there were few takers for it in Kodagu itself. Besides, the project had stirred opposition to it on environmental grounds while a section of activists had approached the court to get it stalled. Mr.Ravichandran, Senior Divisional Engineer (Coordination), and other officials were present.
