Key infra projects held up in Kerala due to delay in land acquisition: Vaishnaw

Since 2014, there has been increase in fund allocation and commensurate commissioning of projects in Kerala, however, pace of execution of projects is dependent on expeditious land acquisition, says the Minister

Updated - August 02, 2024 07:00 pm IST - New Delhi

Execution of important railway infrastructure projects in Kerala is held up due to delay in land acquisition, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The Union Minister said this while providing an update on the development of new coaching terminal at Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] MP John Brittas raised the issue of construction of the Nemom satellite terminal and asked, “Are there any changes in the earlier Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted for sanction to the Railway Board on 02.11.2021 vis-à-vis the final DPR submitted by the Southern Railway in 2022-23 and sanctioned in April 2023, for the development of new coaching terminal in Nemom.”

Responding to the query, the Minister said, “The work of development of new coaching terminal at Nemom has been sanctioned in April, 2023 at a total cost of ₹116.57 crore as per the DPR submitted by the Southern Railway in 2022-23. DPR preparation is a rigorous process and involves study of future traffic requirements, existing infrastructure available and site conditions so as to arrive at optimal solution and cost with consultation amongst stakeholders.”

Mr. Vaishnaw said that since 2014, there has been substantial increase in fund allocation and commensurate commissioning of projects in Kerala, however, pace of execution of project is dependent on expeditious land acquisition.

“The Railways acquires land through the State government, which then assesses the compensation amount and advises the Union Ministry. On receipt of demand from State government, the Railways then deposits the compensation amount with the concerned district land acquisition authority,” Mr. Vaishnaw said.

“Execution of important infrastructure projects falling in Kerala is held up due to delay in land acquisition and only about 62.83 Ha land has been acquired out of total requirement of 459.54 Ha,” the Minister said. Highlighting the need for support of the Kerala government to expedite the land acquisition, Mr. Vaishnaw said, “Railways had initiated efforts for acquisition of land but could not succeed in acquiring land for projects though the Centre has paid ₹2,125.61 crore to the State government for land acquisition.”

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