Acquire land for railway projects fast: CM by RailXpert on 05 October, 2013 - 06:05 AM | ||
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RailXpert | Acquire land for railway projects fast: CM on 05 October, 2013 - 06:05 AM | |
hief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday instructed revenue officials to expedite acquisition of land required to execute railway projects being taken up on a cost-sharing basis with the Railway Ministry.After holding a high-level meeting of both the civil and railway officials here, Siddaramaiah told reporters, “Delay in land acquisition is one of the main causes of delay in executing various projects.”Stating that the State government had earmarked `373 crore in its 2013-14 budget for railway projects, he said, “We have already released `100 crore and another `150 crore will be released this week.”Siddaramaiah said Union Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge had recently decided to release `300 crore in addition to what was proposed in the Railway budget. “In addition to `250 crore, the State government will release remaining funds as the work progresses,” he added.Informing that State government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Railway Ministry to take up about 18 projects on a cost-sharing basis, he said the government has taken proactive steps to speed up land acquisition by invoking emergency clause.About 2,500 acres of land have been acquired and handed over to Railways in the last three years, he said.Expressing concern over the escalation of project cost he said, “We have appealed to the railway officials to focus on completing or getting the schemes that are nearing operational completion.” |