BALURGHAT: In a major breakthrough for the long-delayed Balurghat-Hili Railway project, the South Dinajpur district administration has officially handed over nearly 380 acres of land to the construction wing of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Katihar Division, on Wednesday afternoon. This significant move brings an end to a 15-year-long land acquisition deadlock that had stalled the project.
The handover comes shortly after a directive from the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Samita Dey, which had instructed submission of a project status report within four weeks on June 12. Acting swiftly, the district administration completed the land transfer process, marking a hopeful turn for the long-awaited Railway expansion. However, concerns remain. While the land has been officially transferred, several landowners claim they have not yet received compensation. Some of them have expressed anxiety and are reportedly resisting Railway activity on their lands, despite the commencement of bridge construction by the Railways.
Speaking on the issue, District Magistrate Bijin Krishna stated: “The district administration has completed the land handover for the Balurghat-Hili railway project. The compensation to landowners is expected to be processed and completed within the next two to three months.”
Despite lingering compensation disputes, the formal land transfer is widely seen as a milestone, clearing the path for the long-pending Railway project to finally take shape. Pijush Kanti Deb, General Secretary of a local railway development forum, Eklakhi-Balurghat-Rail-O-Unnayan Committee, said: “It is good to see that the local administration has already handed over the land to the Railway department for the Balurghat-Hili Rail project.
Now we are urging the concerned Railway department to start the work for this project immediately as 15 years have been lost for the land acquisition process.”