The Hindu : Front Page : Salem railway division issue settled

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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
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Salem railway division issue settled

Special Correspondent

Palakkad to get 79 additional route km from the Madurai division

NEW DELHI: The stalemate between Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the creation of the Salem railway division was resolved on Tuesday with the jurisdiction of the Palakkad division being reworked to include 79 additional route km from the Madurai division.

The deadlock was broken at a meeting of members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu and Kerala convened by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad.

Briefing mediapersons after the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, he said 58 km from the section between Palakkad and Polachi in the Madurai division would be added to the Palakkad division. Besides, 21 km from Polachi to Kinattukkadavu – also in the Madurai division – would be given to the Palakkad division. The Palakkad division will now have 588 route km, while the newly created Salem division remains untouched.

The additional 79 km to the Palakkad division seeks to address Kerala’s grievance that the bifurcation had hived off more than half of the older division’s jurisdiction. Since the section from Madurai which will go to the Palakkad division is right now meter gauge, the Ministry has sanctioned additional 22 km as compensation.

Assurance to Kerala

Also, the Minister assured the delegation from Kerala – led by Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury – that no offices of the Palakkad division would be shifted to Salem. Neither would any employee be transferred.

As for the inauguration of the Salem division, Mr. Prasad said it would be fixed as per the convenience of all leaders concerned, including Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

Referring to the earlier announced schedule of inaugurating the Salem division on September 14, he said it was not fixed by the Ministry.

Also, he pointed out that the inauguration could take place only after issuing a gazette notification on the final jurisdiction of the Salem division.

At the meeting, Kerala and Tamil Nadu wrangled for Coimbatore.

However, it was pointed out that the earnings of the section under the Palakkad division were more than that of Salem with the Coimbatore section under it. The contention of the Ministry and Tamil Nadu is that the Salem division would be economically unviable without Coimbatore.

Though the Madurai division has lost 79 km to Palakkad, Railway Ministry officials do not foresee a problem there, as it is a large division extending over 1,400 km.

Inauguration put off

Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam, talking to mediapersons in Salem, said the sensitive issue between the two States was amicably resolved. The function to formally inaugurate the Salem railway division, scheduled for September 14, was postponed following a request from Mr. Prasad.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan expressed happiness over the resolution of the Salem division issue.

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