Four major railway projects for Tumakuru district have been sanctioned totally Rs 466 crore in the current Union budget.
The above sanction does not include the suburban railway project (which includes the Bengaluru-Tumakuru line) that envisages connecting the Bengaluru suburbs.
The much awaited Banawara-Hubballi line is included in this year’s sanctions. All these budget sanction details are published in the railway department’s pink book.
The main lines of connectivity, Tumakuru-Davangere and the Tumakuru-Rayadurga are pending. As these projects have been allocated more funds, it is hoped that the state government will soon chip in its share of the funds and the projects will be expedited.
The state government is required to handover the land required for the Tumakuru-Chitradurga-Davanagere line (199.7 km), freely for the project. The Rs 600 crore required for the land acquisition needs to be footed by the state government without the Centre’s help.
It is estimated that Rs 1200 crore is required for the construction of the line. The state government needs to provide half the money as its share.
“The land acquisition for the Tumakuru-Davanagere line is proceeding very slowly. Not even a single acre of land has been acquired so far. The state government has to evince more interest at least now,” said railway rights activist Raghottam Rao.
Rao said that the state government had decided to divert and use, the money meant for a dead-mines revival program, for this railway project instead.
“The government must act quickly now and set aside required monies in the state budget for this railway line and make it a reality,” he urged.
The state has handed-over 23 km of land from the fifth kilometer (Puros colony) to 23 km (Koratagere border) for the construction under the Tumakuru-Pavagada-Kalyanadurga-Rayadurga (213 km) project, to Indian Railway.
The land acquisition for the Koratagere-Pavagada stretch is proceeding quickly. The state government has agreed to finance 50% of the project cost for this line also.
The Pavagada-Rayadurga line which is interstate (Karnataka- Andhra Pradesh), is almost over.
However Karnataka’s part of the project is pending.
Union budget sanctions
Tumakuru-Rayadurga– Rs 221 crore
Tumakuru- Davanagere– 135 km
Tumakuru-Arsikere (twin rail)– 100 crore
Chikkabanawara-Tumakuru-Hubballi electrification (primary works)—Rs 10 crore
Suburban rail project—Rs 6030 crore
