Balurghat-Hili Rail project: Railway Ministry allots Rs 244 crore for land acquisition

BALURGHAT: The Ministry of Railways has allotted Rs 244 crore to the concerned South Dinajpur district administration for land acquisition for Balurghat-Hili Rail project. The South Dinajpur district administration is actively collecting documents for land acquisition. DRM of North Eastern Frontier Railway, Katihar Division, Surendra Kumar during his Balurghat visit on Wednesday said that once the work of land acquisition starts progressing, tender process would commence.

“Land acquisition for the Balurghat-Hili Rail project is in progress. Railways have already given Rs 244 crore for land acquisition to the district administration of South Dinajpur. Work will start after acquiring land,” said Kumar.

District Magistrate Bijin Krishna said that till now Rs 244 crore has been received from the Railways.

“Land will be acquired with that money. The acquisition process is on,” Krishna informed. Incidentally, 386 acres of land has been identified for the 29.7 km stretch for the Railway link from Balurghat to Hili.

“After identifying the land and determining the value of the land, the district administration had sent a proposal of Rs 298 crore to the Ministry of Railways. The Railways started paying money to the account of the district administration in a phase-wise manner,” said Krishna.

DRM, Surendra Kumar informed that the rest of the money will be paid quickly. “The work of Balurghat-Hili Rail project will start in the current financial year only after 50 per cent of the land is acquired,” Kumar said.

The residents of the district have welcomed the commencement of the Balurghat-Hili Rail project work after almost 12 years. Biman Krishna Saha, General Secretary of Hili Border Development Mancha, said: “The longstanding project is now on its way to reality. We welcome it. We want this work to be completed quickly,” Saha said.

Kumar, along with other officials of NF Railways, visited the Balurghat Railway Station on Wednesday evening where the pit-line work has been going on.

The officials expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the project. Kumar instructed the concerned contractor to commission the work quickly. After the completion of the

pit-line, long distance trains will be started.