Railway Board has cleared new Gulbarga division proposal: Kharge
‘It is awaiting Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu’s nod’
The former Railway Minister and Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, has said that the Railway Board has given its final clearance for the establishment of the Railway Division at Kalaburagi and Railway Board Chairman, A.K. Mittal, has sent the...
more... proposal for the approval of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.
Mr. Kharge, who was instrumental in giving the green signal for division when he was Railway Minister, told The Hindu here on Monday that he had already spoken to Mr. Prabhu in this regard and the Railway Minister had said that he would examine the proposal.
Mr. Kharge said that due to the fact that the railway network under Kalaburagi district was divided into three zones, central, south central and south western, the region was neglected in the development of the railway network and the establishment of the railway division would ensure the proper development of the network in the region.
According to Mr. Kharge, the delay in giving the final approval for the division at Kalaburagi was the pressure exerted by the Solapur Division of the Central Railways on the fear that some of the network under the Solapur Division would be merged with the new zone and loss of revenue.
Mr. Kharge hoped that the Railway Minister would take into consideration the advantages in establishing the new zone for the overall development of the network and take a positive stand on the issue.
Mr. Kharge said that the State government has set in motion the land acquisition process for the new Gadag-Wadi railway line which would provide direct rail connectivity between Hyderabad Karnataka and Mumbai Karnataka region by releasing Rs. 23 crore to KIADB to acquire the required land for the first 50 km from the Wadi side and another 50 km from the Gadag side. After the acquisition of the land it would be handed over to the Railways for taking up the laying of the new railway line.
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M. Mallikarjun Kharge had given the go-ahead to the proposal when he was Railway Minister
The government had started the land acquisition process for the new Gadag-Wadi railway line
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