Guwahati, July 13: As uncertainty looms over two key railway projects in Meghalaya – Tetelia-Byrnihat and Byrnihat-New Shillong projects – Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities here are still optimistic that the projects could take off immediately after all obstacles are cleared and a “go-ahead” is given by the authorities concerned.
Notably, the railway projects have remained a non-starter despite making considerable progress in Assam with over 75 per cent of the physical construction work completed.
“In the Tetelia-Byrnihat section, a line has gone up to Kamalajari (in Assam), which has become a key trading hub now. Beyond that (in Meghalaya) nothing has happened even as we have been in constant touch with the Meghalaya government,” NFR chief public relations officer Sabyasachi De informed The Shillong Times here.
“As far as NFR is concerned, the moment we get the go ahead, we will start the work. Because, everything is in place…That is the status as of now,” De said.
The NFR official further claimed that the railways have been eager to start work on the two key projects that have been hanging fire for several years now owing to stiff opposition by leading pressure groups and students unions in Meghalaya.
NGOs and unions in the hill state have time again raised the demand for ILP (inner-line permit) apprehending that the rail links to Khasi Hills, and capital Shillong, could trigger large-scale influx of “outsiders” and subsequently pose a threat to indigenous communities of the state.
“Our dialogue with the Meghalaya government to start the projects had taken place time and again in the past. But given the opposition from local organisations, we are now totally dependent on the state government’s green signal and cannot do anything without such a clearance. There is a lot of cooperation needed in terms of logistics for such key projects to take off,” the NFR CPRO said.
The uncertainty over the rail projects has been further substantiated by chief minister Conrad Sangma recently indicating that central funds allocated for the projects in Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts “might be diverted to other areas of Meghalaya where there is no opposition”.
“The central government might not wait too long as there is a possibility that it would cancel the project up to Shillong and funds would be diverted to other zones where the stakeholders concerned are open to railway connectivity.
The chief minister however indicated that there was a possibility of introduction of rail links to East Jaintia Hills where he said a study was being conducted in East Jaintia Hills for exploring such a project.
“However, such a possibility would again depend on the views of the local people and consent of stakeholders,” he said.
It may be recalled that Sangma had admitted in the Assembly last year that there was “huge pressure” on him from the Centre to introduce railways in the state. He, however, made it clear that the state government would not go ahead with the railway project without taking the stakeholders on board.
Asked about a possible railway link to East Jaintia Hills, the NFR official said, “We will always approach areas which are acceptable to railway projects, because we cannot stop. Railway connectivity to any place is a great economic boon. As a mass transporter, railways can make a huge impact on industry, particularly the tourism scenario and allied sectors, leading to economic growth.”
He further said that the primary objective of NFR was to boost connectivity in the Northeast and make communication possible to the hitherto inaccessible areas of the region. “Our goal is to connect the Northeast as much as possible and we will continue to do so,” De said.
Notably, Mendipathar in North Garo Hills is the only railway station in Meghalaya which has been in operation since 2014.
Over the past nine years, there has been significant improvement of connectivity to North Garo Hills from Guwahati via Dudhnoi. The launch of electric trains in March this year is expected to significantly boost tourism and the state’s economy in the coming years.
“After commissioning of electric traction between Dudhnoi and Mendipathar (22.823 track km), trains hauled by electric locomotive will now be able to operate directly from Mendipathar which will increase the average speed. More passenger and freight carrying trains will be able to operate through the section with full sectional speed. Punctuality will also increase in this section. Parcel and freight carrying trains hauled by electric locomotives from other states will be able to reach Meghalaya directly,” the NFR official said.
It may be recalled that during the recent Budget session of Parliament, Union minister of railways Ashwini Vaishnaw had said on the floor of the House that the 108-km long Byrnihat-Shillong railway project was facing acute law-and-order problem created by the Khasi Students Union.
In a written statement to the question in February this year, the Union minister had said that a no-objection certificate (NOC) for land to be acquired for the railway project has to be issued by the KHADC.
Giving further details about the present status of the project, the minister said that final location survey (FLS) was not allowed to be conducted in around 5-km length. “All activities including land acquisition are held up on this account,” the minister had stated.
As far as the 22-km Tetelia-Byrnihat project is concerned, the minister said that the Tetelia-Kamalajari (10 km) section has been completed and commissioned. “Work has been taken up in the balance section in Assam, while work in Meghalaya was stopped due to law and order problem,” the statement said.
According to reports, an amount of Rs 125 crore was allocated for the project in 2019 followed by allocations of Rs 300 crore between the years 2020 and 2023.
The proposed Byrnihat-Shillong railway line will have as many as 100 bridges on the route, the longest of which will be 701 metres.
Reportedly, there will be 10 stations on the proposed route — Byrnihat, Sohkhwai, Lailad, Umsong, Umar, Nongsder, Kyrdemkulai, Umroi, Umpling and New Shillong.
Besides, the proposed project will have 31 tunnels, covering a total length of 39.06 km. As much as 36.03 per cent of the total rail length will pass through tunnels. The longest tunnel is proposed to be 4.14 km in length.