‘Rail project in M’laya hits law-and-order roadblock’

SHILLONG, Feb 14: The 108-km long Byrnihat-Shillong railway project is facing acute law-and-order problem created by KSU, Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Parliament recently in response to a question on the new railway project for Northeast region.
In a written statement to the question on February 10, the minister said the KHADC has to issue NOC for land to be acquired for the railway project.
Giving further details about the present status of the project, the minister said that final location survey (FLS) was not been allowed to be conducted in around 5-km length.
“All activities including land acquisition are held up on this account,” the minister’s statement said.
As far as the 22-km Tetelia-Byrnihat project is concerned, the minister said that Tetelia-Kamalajari (10 km) section has been completed and commissioned. “Work has been taken up in balance section in Assam while work in Meghalaya is stopped due to law and order problem,” the statement said.
An amount of Rs 125 crore was allocated for the project in 2019 followed by allocations of Rs 300 crore between 2020 and 2023.