The acquisition of land for the Bhadrachalam Road - Sattupalli railway line, cleared by the Railway Board, has commenced.
About 500 acres is required for the 36-km railway line in Bhadradri Kothagudem district and 17.3 km in Khammam and this 53.2-km section will cost ₹ 704 crore. The project would be funded by the Singareni Colliaries. The land acquisition cost would be borne by the Indian Railways.
Roads & Buildings Minister Thummala Nageswara Rao, who reviewed the progress of 133.7-km Bhadrachalam-Sattupalli-Kovvur railway line work with department and railway officials asked the Bhadradri Kothagudem Collector about the land acquisition plan schedule. About 166.25 acres required for the railway line would be acquired in the district. The Minister also directed the Khammam Collector to ensure that the land acquisition process was completed speedily.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said that the Bhadrachalam-Sattupalli Road was crucial for Telangana and the Singareni mines area and would facilitate easy transport of coal and convenient for people visiting the Sri Sitarama temple at Bhadrachalam. The land acquisition process should be commenced in the next two to three days, he said.
He wanted the officials to include proposals for the Pandurangapuram-Kothagudem Road railway line in the next budget to take up that work also.
The major length of newly sanctioned Sattupalli-Kovvur and Sattupalli-Kondapalli railway lines was in Andhra Pradesh and those lines would have to be completed with the joint partnership of both the States. If Andhra Pradesh came forward, Telangana would complete land acquisition in the State at the earliest.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Nageswara Rao inquired about the progress of work on nine RoB and RuB taken up by the Railways and if required the link work to be taken up by the R&B could be completed through Road Development Corporation. He directed the officials to take forward 40 new RoB and RuBs proposed by the Railways.
CS reviews projects
Chief Secretary S.P. Singh also held a meeting to review the progress of railway projects, RoBs, RuBs and said that the land acquisition process should be speeded up. The meeting was attended by Railway General Manager Vinod Kumar Yadav and officials of R&B, MA & UD, Finance and he said that hereafter a coordination meeting would be held once in two months on the railway projects.
The State Government would release funds for the Medak-Akkannapeta, Manoharabad-Kothapalli railway line as per their progress. He also discussed the land required for Charlapalli-Vattinagulapalli railway terminals. The District collectors should give permissions for the construction of limited subways in the place of 28 unmanned level crossings.