NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain has said survey for the final location for a part of the two railway projects in Meghalaya, which had stoked protests by pressure groups, is complete.
Answering to a question raised by Shillong MP Vincent H. Pala in the Lok Sabha, Gohain said the two projects – the 22-km Tetelia-Byrnihat tracks and the 108-km Byrnihat-Shillong line – were held up owing to protests by the Khasi Students Union (KSU), but the issues were ironed out through regular meetings with the State government.
The KSU had been opposing the projects on the grounds that it would lead to large-scale infiltration. It had also tried to stop companies which were surveying location for tracks.
The Tetelia-Byrnihat project will be implemented at a cost of Rs 496 crore and the Byrnihat-Shillong will come up at a cost of Rs 5,308 crore. Survey for 104 km has already been completed. For Tetelia-Byrnihat, an expenditure of Rs 235 crore was incurred up to March this year mainly in earthwork, bridges and tunnels. An allocation of Rs 150 crore was made in 2015-16 and Rs 160 crore in 2016-17 to expedite the completion of the project.
Similarly, for the Byrnihat-Shillong railway line, an expenditure of Rs 21 crore was already incurred till March this year and an outlay of Rs 300 crore was provided for 2016-17.
However, Gohain added that it was not feasible to fix a time frame for the completion of the project owing to land acquisition, law and order and other issues.
