Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Railways seek land

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

Second phase of Kochuveli terminal

Thiruvananthapuram: The Railways have initiated steps for the second phase development of the Kochuveli railway terminal by handing over to the revenue authorities the notification for acquiring land for the project.

The notification was handed over to District Collector N. Ayyappan and it is for the revenue authorities to acquire land needed for the project, a top railway official told The Hindu .

Although 32 hectares of land is needed for the development of the terminal, the Railways need three hectares immediately to begin work. The land acquisition has already come in for opposition from some quarters.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar, who holds the charge of Railways in the State, had recently convened a meeting in his chamber to sort out the issues over land acquisition.

A sum of Rs.22 crore was sanctioned in the supplementary budget of 2006-07 for the second phase development. Union Minister for Railways Lalu Prasad had allocated Rs.1 crore in the 2007-08 budget for the purpose.

Railway sources said any delay in acquiring and handing over the land would affect the commissioning of the project, scheduled for March 2009. It is estimated that Rs.15 crore is needed to acquire the land.

"Funds are available with the Railways to commence work on the project. We can even divert funds from the Rs.39 crore earmarked in the 2007-08 Railway Budget for traffic facilities," the official said.

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