Lok Sabha Question No. 144 (STARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: ROB at Azimganj-New Farakka Section
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Isha Khan Choudhury

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.144 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025

## ROB AT AZIMGANJ-NEW FARAKKA SECTION

## * 144. SHRI ISHA KHAN CHOUDHURY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  present  status  of  the  Detailed  Project  Report  (DPR)  for construction of the Road Over Bridge (ROB) at Level Crossing No. 43/Spl/E  on  the  Azimganj-New  Farakka  section  under  Maldaha Dakshin Lok Sabha Constituency;
- (b) the  timelines  proposed  for  approval/sanction/commencement  of the ROB construction;
- (c) whether  any  constraints  (technical/administrative/financial)  are delaying the project and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the expected time by which the ROB is likely to be completed and opened to the public?

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. *****

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 144 BY SHRI ISHA KHAN CHOUDHURY TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 10.12.2025

(a) to (d) : Sanctioning and execution of works of Road Over Bridges/ Road Under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs) is a continuous and ongoing process on Indian Railways.  Such  works  are  prioritized  and  taken  up  on  the  basis  of  its impact  on  safety  and  mobility  in  train  operations  and  impact  on  road users.

Nos. of ROBs/ RUBs constructed on Indian Railways during the period 2004-14 vis a vis 2014-25 (Oct'25) is as under:

| Period           | ROBs/ RUBs constructed   |
|------------------|--------------------------|
| 2004-14          | 4,148 Nos.               |
| 2014-25 (Oct'25) | 13,653 Nos.              |

The construction work of ROB in lieu of LC No. 43/Spl/E at KM 239/910 in AzimganjNew  Farakka  section of Malda Division has  been sanctioned.  The  work  for  preparation  of  General  Arrangement  Drawing (GAD) and Detailed Estimate has been taken up.

Out of 302 Nos. sanctioned ROB/RUB works in West Bengal, 99 Nos. ROB/RUB works are delayed on account of the State Govt. The details are as under:

| SN   | Reason                                    |   ROB/RUB works (in Nos.) |
|------|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1.   | Finalization of Alignment                 |                        41 |
| 2.   | General Arrangement Drawing stage         |                        14 |
| 3.   | NOC for closure of LC                     |                        27 |
| 4.   | Land Acquisition                          |                        10 |
| 5.   | Law & Order/ Public Protest               |                         7 |
|      | Total held up due to Govt. of West Bengal |                        99 |

Completion & commissioning of ROB/RUB works depends on various factors  like  cooperation  of   State  Governments  in  giving   consent  for closure of LC, fixing of approach alignment, approval of General Arrangement Drawing (GAD), land acquisition, removal of encroachment, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities,   law  and  order  situation  in  the  area  of  project  /  work  sites, duration of working season in a year for the particular project / area  due to climatic conditions etc.  All these factors affect the completion time of the projects / works.

Railways have taken following measures to expedite the progress of ROB/RUB works:

- (i)  Joint survey with concerned State Govt./Road Owning Authority is done before finalizing      the General Arrangement Drawing  (GAD) to ensure smooth execution.
- (ii)  Periodic  meetings  of  Railway  &  State  Government  officials  are done to resolve various issues related to ROB/RUB works.
- (iii) Standardization of superstructure drawings for various combinations  of  span,  skewness  and  width  of  road  on  Railway portion has been done to avoid delays during the design approval. This  has  been  issued  in  the  form  of  compendium,  which  can  be directly  adopted  for  Road  Over  Bridge  across  Railway  lines  for expeditious planning.
- (iv)  ROB/RUB  works  are  planned  to  be  executed  on  a  single  entity basis  by  Railway  wherever  possible.  In  case  any  Road  Owning authority/State  Govt.  wants,  then Railway  may  permit  them  to execute the work on a single entity basis.

*****