Title - Fresh deadline for rail project

Silchar, July 25:The cost of 201km gauge conversion project between Lumding junction in Nagaon district and Silchar has now ballooned to a whopping Rs 4,255 crore from an estimated Rs 648 crore when this vital infrastructure project got off to a start in 1996. Further delay in its completion is not ruled out.
Quoting from what he claimed to be official documents prepared between September 2010 and July 2013, spokesman for the Assam unit of the BJP Rajdeep Roytoday told reporters here that this cost and time overrun were by no means “unpardonable”.
He attributed the delay in execution of the project, which was earlier slated for completion by 2006, to technical glitches, steep gradient in the hill sections of the track through Dima Hasao district and insurgency there between 2006 and 2009.
Roy wondered as to why such problems were not properly addressed in the past when more such challenging tasks like laying broad gauge track between Udhampur and Baramulla in Kashmir could be carried out smoothly.
He said though the deadline for completion of the project has now been re-fixed for February 2015, possible lack of funds for its implementation could be an impediment.
The BJP leader said though Rs 127crore has been allotted in the current fiscal, only Rs 7 crore could be sanctioned till now indicating a possible funds crunch.
Roy also expressed doubts whether release of the special allocation of Rs 200 crore as assured by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 18 could be realised.
Roy made it clear that the new deadline could be difficult to meet considering the fact that since 1996 only 57 per cent of the target could be completed till last month.
He said the slow progress in building tunnels 7 and 10 near Jatinga and Mahur stations in Dima Hasao district by two construction majors was the main reason for the delay. Tunnel number 10 is 3,235 metres long and 1,540 metres have been constructed till June.
This was revealed in an affidavit submitted to the division bench of Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice A.K. Goel and Justice A.K. Goswami in May by deputy chief engineer (construction) of NFR, Raj Kumar Das.
The project envisages construction of 20 tunnels on this railway line, but most difficult of these tunnels are numbers 7, 10, 11 and 10(a).
Leak of methane gas while digging now appears to be a stumbling block in wrapping up construction on these lines within the timeframe.