Lok Sabha Question No. 3174 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-19
Subject: Tarakeswar-Bishnupur Railway Line in West Bengal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Jyotirmay Singh Mahato

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3174 TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2025

## TARAKESWAR - BISHNUPUR RAILWAY LINE IN WEST BENGAL

†3174. SHRI JYOTIRMAY SINGH MAHATO:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the status of the construction issue related to the 900-meter stretch of  railway  track  at  Bhabadighi  in  West  Bengal,  which  has  been stalled for years;
- (b)  the expected time-limit of completion of Maynapur Bara Gopinathpur section of Tarakeswar-Bishnupur (West Bengal) Railway Project and the  present  status  of  construction  work  on  Bara  GopinathpurJairambati section; and
- (c)    the  details of the steps being taken by the Government to address the remaining challenges in completing this railway line and ensure timely progress in connecting the Tarakeswar-Bishnupur section?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  to  (c)  :  As  on  01.04.2024,  43  projects  (13  New  Lines,  04  Gauge Conversions  and  26  Doubling),  of  total  length  of  4479  Km,  costing ₹60,168 crore falling fully/partly  in the  State of  West Bengal  including

Contd…2/-

those which are in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 1655 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹20,434 crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. The summary is as under:-

| Category                 |   No. of projects |   Total Length (in Km) |   Length Commissioned till March, 2024 (in Km) |   Total Exp. upto March, 2024 (Rs. in Cr.) |
|--------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| New Lines                |                13 |                   1087 |                                            322 |                                       9774 |
| Gauge Conversion         |                 4 |                   1201 |                                            854 |                                       3663 |
| Doubling/Multi- tracking |                26 |                   2192 |                                            479 |                                       6997 |
| Total                    |                43 |                   4479 |                                           1655 |                                      20434 |

The details of outlay for infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                            |
|----------|-----------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | Rs.4,380 Cr./year                 |
| 2024-25  | Rs.13,941 Cr. (More than 3 times) |

Railway Infrastructure Projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are covered under East Central Railway (ECR), Eastern Railway (ER), South Eastern Railway (SER) and Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Zones  of  Indian  Railways.  Zonal  Railway  wise  details  of  Railway projects  including  cost,  expenditure  and  outlay  are  made  available  in public domain.

Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal is held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in West Bengal is as under:

| Total Land required         | 4093 Ha         |
|-----------------------------|-----------------|
| Land Acquired               | 1086 Ha (26.5%) |
| Balance Land to be acquired | 3007 (73.5%)    |

Government of India is geared up to execute projects, however success depends upon the support of Government of West Bengal.

In  Tarakeswar  -  Bishnupur  (83  Km)  New  Line  project,  so  far  64  Km section  comprising  of  Tarakeswar  -  Goghat  (34  Km)  and  Bishnupur  Mayonapur - Barogopinathpur (30 Km) has been commissioned. Works have been taken up on available land in balance Goghat - Kamarpukur Barogopinathpur  (19  Km)  section.  Bhabhadighi  pond  lies  between Goghat  -  Kamarpukur  (5.5  Km)  section.  Execution  of  work  on  this Goghat - Kamarpukur section has been held up since long due to law and order problem arising out of local public protest over filling up of Bhabhadighi pond. Railway is constantly in touch with State Government  authority  to  resolve  the  issue  but  the  issue  is  still unresolved.  The  Barogopinathpur-Jairambati  (7  Km)  section  is  in  the advance stage of completion.

Contd…4/-

Completion  of  any  Railway  project/s  depends  on  various  factors  like quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forestry  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory clearances  from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic  conditions,  etc.  With  above  constraints,  every  effort  is  being made to complete these projects at the earliest.

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