BIDAR: The foundation stone for the Gulbarga-Bidar railway line was laid on July 29 five years ago. The then Railway Minister, Bangaru Lakshman, promised to introduce trains on the route by 2005. But work on laying the tracks is yet to be completed.

The 140-km railway line is likely to reduce the travelling distance between South India and New Delhi by over 500 km.

Delay in land acquisition, token outlay in Railway budgets for the project and changes in the initial plans are being cited as the main reasons for the delay in implementing the project, according to sources.

Bidar did not have a full-time Special Land Acquisition Officer for three of the five years since the foundation stone was laid. The Assistant Commissioner of Bidar held charge as the Land Acquisition Officer till recently. Both the posts have been vacant for over a month now.

It is said that the Railways has only released Rs. 49.45 crores of the estimated Rs. 369.7 crores needed to complete the project.

Plans altered

It is also said that the Railways has altered the initial plans. Earlier, it was planned to lay tracks for 116 km at a cost of Rs. 242.42 crores. Later, it was planned to extend the line to 140 km at a cost of Rs. 369.7 crores. The Humnabad-Bhalki line, which was not part of the original plan, was included at a later stage.

Revenue sources said the Railways had earlier demanded 30 ft of land on both sides of the proposed line. Now, it has increased the demand to 45 ft. This means that a new survey needs to be conducted, which will add to the delay, a senior officer said.

However, work is progressing on the project. In Bidar, 81 per cent of the land has been acquired and handed over to the Railways, and people who surrendered their land have been compensated. Of the 53-km line passing through Bidar, land acquisition has been completed up to the 43rd kilometre. Land has been acquired for the rest of the stretch, and is waiting clearance from the State Government.

The Railways has completed earthwork in nearly 70 per cent of the acquired land. Tracks will be laid first between Bidar and Humnabad and between Humnabad and Gulbarga in the next phase. The Humnabad-Bhalki line will run across the main line. It will be a boon to Bidar as it will connect the district with Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Railway officials said.

Legislators blamed

People, however, hold elected representatives responsible for the delay in implementing the project. "The preliminary survey was conducted in 1994. It was included in the Railway budget of 1999. Therefore, the project has been effectively delayed for a decade now. It is unfortunate that people who sit in the Assembly and Parliament on behalf of us do not seem to bother," Gurunath Jantikar, president of Janaseva Trust and a member of the District Development Forum, said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail