The Belapur-Seawoods Uran suburban railway line being jointly constructed by Central Railway and the City Industrial Development Corporation Limited (CIDCO) is now the most delayed railway project in Maharashtra. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has said that this project is still ongoing even after a period of 216 months or 18 years.
During this time, the project cost has escalated from ₹495.44 crores to ₹2,980.41 crores while ₹1,768.25 crores have been spent so far. The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division says that the current deadline of the project is March 2022 while allied works, including staff quarters, will reportedly conclude by March 2025.
The aforementioned division monitors projects that cost more than ₹150 crores across 16 central sectors. It is worth noting that this project was originally approved in March 1996 with a completion deadline of March 2004 mentioned at the time. Since then, authorities encountered a wide range of troubles, including land acquisition among other things which caused a substantial delay.
Also read - Central Railway Earns INR 225 Crores In A Year By Selling Scrap
As per the project implementation status report for the quarter ending October-December 2020 accessed by mid-day, the first phase of the project was commissioned in November 2018. However, in a 3-km stretch of the second phase between Kharkopar and Uran (14.6 km), around 4.067 hectares of forest and 0.412 hectares of private land are yet to be obtained by CIDCO.
The report goes on to say that Phase 2 between Kharkopar and Uran can start by March 2022 as long as CIDCO acquires the necessary land by March 2021. The project will be undertaken at a 67:33 ratio with the railways spending up to one-third of the project cost.
Read - Central Railways To Promote Electric Bikes
When finished, this line will allow commuters from CSMT to arrive in one hour and 45 minutes which is a significant reduction in the usual travel time. Currently, the freight line to Uran stretches around 95.10 Km from Mumbai CSMT. However, the completion of this new line will shorten the distance by 50%.
Chief Public Relations at Central Railway, Shivaji Sutar in conversation with mid-day said, “The work on about 11kms of a stretch in Phase II of the Kharkopar-Uran line is in an advanced stage. We are coordinating with the forest department and CIDCO for the acquisition of the remaining 3kms land to complete the Phase II work as early as possible."
Also read - Western Railway To Start 15-Coach Trains On Slow Line In April
Share
Tweet
