Lok Sabha Question No. 3440 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-09
Subject: Lalitpur-Singrauli Railway Project
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Riti Pathak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3440 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2023

## LALITPUR-SINGRAULI RAILWAY PROJECT

†3440.   SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK :

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the time by which the ambitious Lalitpur-Singrauli Railway Project of Railways in Madhya Pradesh is likely to be completed;
- (b) whether the amount for land acquisition has been paid to all the land owners whose land is coming under this project;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether there is any major reason behind the slow pace of the said projects, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) the  time  by  which  the  said  project  is  likely  to  be  completely  made available to the public; and
- (f) whether the Government has any special plan so that this project may be  dedicated  to  local  residents  at  the  earliest,  if  so,  the  details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)

to (f): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  3440  BY  SHRIMATI  RITI  PATHAK  TO  BE ANSWERED  IN LOK SABHA ON 09.08.2023 REGARDING LALITPURSINGRAULI RAILWAY PROJECT

(a)  to  (f):  Railway  has  taken  up  construction  of  Lalitpur-Satna-RewaSingrauli  (541  km)  new  line  project.  The  latest  anticipated  cost  of  the project  is ₹ 8913.94  crore.  An  expenditure  of ₹ 4086  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2023.  An outlay of ₹ 700 crore has been provided for this  project  for  the  year  2023-24.    Total  229  Km  Section,  LalitpurKhajuraho and Khajuraho-Mahoba have been commissioned and work has been taken up in balance section in available land.

The timely completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest  department,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities  (both  underground  and over  ground),  statutory  clearances  from  various  authorities,  geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site  due to  climatic  conditions,  encountering unforeseen conditions like earthquake, excessive rains, situation and conditions of working agencies/contractors etc. and all these factors affect the completion of the project. Therefore, confirmed timeline cannot be given.

Various  steps  are  taken  by  the  Government  for  effective  and  speedy implementation of this railway project including (i) prioritisation of project (ii) substantial increase in allocation of funds to this project (iii) delegation  of  powers  at  field  level (iv) close  monitoring  of progress of project at various levels, and (v) regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to this project.

For  a  railway  project,  railway  acquires  land  through  concerned  District Authorities.    All  the  activities  in  connection  with  land  acquisition  like assessment of land area, amount of compensation to land losers etc. are under their  purview.    Compensation  for  land  acquisition  is  made  to  the land losers by Revenue Department of State Government after demanding the same from railways.  As on date, all the demand received by Railways from State Government towards compensation for land acquisition have been paid to State Government.  Railway is liasioning with District and State authorities for expeditious land acquisition for the Project.

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