Lok Sabha Question No. 839 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Fair Compensation for Land Acquisition for Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Hanuman Beniwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 839

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.02.2026

## FAIR COMPENSATION FOR LAND ACQUISITION FOR RAILWAY PROJECTS

## †839. SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that land, including agricultural, non-agricultural and other  categories,  is  being  acquired  or  is  proposed  to  be  acquired  in Rajasthan  for  new  railway  lines, railway line  doubling  and  other projects;
- (b) if so, the details of the land acquired during the last three years and the land  being  acquired  or  planned  to  be  acquired  in  the  current  year, project-wise;
- (c)  whether the Government has received any complaints during the said period regarding the non-payment of compensation rehabilitation/resettlement in accordance with the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement  Act,  2013,  for  new  railway  lines  in  Rajasthan,  including the  proposed  Merta-Pushkar  and  Ras-Merta  railway  lines,  and  other locations in the State; and
- (d)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  projects  for  which  such  complaints  were received  and  the  action  taken  by  the  Government  so  far  on  these complaints?

## ANSWER

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

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (d): Compensation  for  land acquisition is paid through state government which decides the amount of compensation as per provisions of land acquisition acts.

Representations regarding alignment in Pushkar-Merta and Ras-Merta New Line projects were received. Accordingly,  the  alignments   were   finalized

after consideration of all techno-economic factors, ensuring that only the bare minimum land is acquired for construction of the railway line.

Land acquisition for the Pushkar-Merta (Katyasani) New Line (51.346 km) and  Merta  City-Ras  New  Line  (51.40  km)  has  been  taken  up  through Railways Act, 1989.

Total scope of land for acquisition in the state of Rajasthan is 4711 Ha, out of which 2462 Ha land has been acquired and balance of 2248 Ha land is under acquisition.

## Rajasthan :

Budget allocation  in  the  recent  years  has  increased  significantly.  Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of Rajasthan is as under:-

| Period   | Outlay                         |
|----------|--------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | ₹682 crore/year                |
| 2025-26  | ₹9,960 crore (Nearly 15 times) |

The details of commissioning/laying of new track falling fully/partly in the State of Rajasthan during 2009-14 and 2014-25 is as under:-

| Period   | New Track Commissioned   | Average commissioning of new tracks   |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 2009-14  | 798 Km                   | 159.60 Km/year                        |
| 2014-25  | 3,815 Km                 | 346.82 Km/year (More than 2 times)    |

As on 01.04.2025, 28 Railway projects (13 New Lines, 05 Gauge Conversion and 10 Doubling), of total length of 3,409 Km costing ₹43,918 crore falling fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Rajasthan  have  been  sanctioned,  out  of  which 1,238  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of  ₹18,954 crore has been  incurred upto March  2025. The  status of work  is summarized as under:-

| Category                 |   No. of projects | Total Length (in Km)   | Length Commissioned (in Km)   | Expenditure (₹ in Cr)   |
|--------------------------|-------------------|------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|
| New Lines                |                13 | 981                    | 196                           | 5769                    |
| Gauge Conversion         |                 5 | 1252                   | 788                           | 6829                    |
| Multitracking / Doubling |                10 | 1176                   | 254                           | 6357                    |
| Total                    |                28 | 3,409                  | 1,238                         | 18,954                  |

Zonal Railway wise details of Railway Projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website.

Sanction  of  any  railway  project  depends  upon  many  parameters/factors which include the following:

-  Anticipated traffic projections and Remunerativeness of the proposed route
-  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project
-  Connection of missing links and providing additional route
-  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines
-  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives,
-  Railway's own operational requirements
-  Socio-economic considerations
-  Overall availability of funds

Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:

-  Land acquisition by State Government
-  Forest clearance
-  Shifting of infringing utilities
-  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 etc.

All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s.

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