(a) the status of projects from Assam to Meghalaya till Shillong and the steps taken to complete the same;
(b) the name of NGOs who are against the project and the steps taken to avoid confrontation with the NGOs;
(c) the amount sanctioned for the projects till Shillong and the target date of completion of the project; and
(d) whether the Government plans to set up a Loading/Unloading point to carry heavy materials to/from Meghalaya to any parts of India and if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)
(a ) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1245 BY SHRI VINCENT H. PALA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 23.11.2016 REGARDING STATUS OF ASSAM TO MEGHALAYA PROJECT.
(a) to (c): Two new line projects have been taken up to connect Meghalaya with Indian Railway network. These projects are (i) Teteliya (Assam) – Byrnihat (Meghalaya) (22 km) and (ii) Byrnihat (Meghalaya) – Shillong (Meghalaya) (108 km).
(i) Teteliya-Byrnihat (22 km): Project has been taken up at latest anticipated cost of `496 crore. An expenditure of `235 crore has been incurred upto March, 2016. Earthwork, bridges and tunnels works have been taken up. An allocation of `150 crore has been made in 2015-16 and `160 crore in 2016-17 to expedite the completion of the project.
(ii) Byrnihat-Shillong (108 km): Project has been taken up at a latest anticipated cost of `5308 crore. An expenditure of `21 crore has been incurred upto March, 2016 and an outlay of `300 crore has been provided for 2016-17. The Project is held up due to protest of Khasi Students’ Union. Final Location Survey was stopped by Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), in November, 2010 after survey upto 19.00 km. The survey was restarted in December, 2013, since then it has been stopped by KSU on many occasions of varying durations. The Final Location Survey has since been completed for 104 km. Regular meetings with State Government are being convened to sort out issues. Due to various uncertainties with reference to land acquisition, law and order etc., it is not feasible to fix time lines for completion of this project.
(d): Yes, Madam. In Teteliya-Byrnihat and Byrnihat-Shillong new line projects, location of Byrnihat and Shillong are identified for development of goods handling facilities.
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