(a) the number of level crossings that have been closed and are proposed for closure on South Central Railway line in Satara district of Maharashtra;
(b) the policy for providing alternative appropriate crossings for affected villagers in the form of under bridges or over bridges and the cost sharing mechanism for the same; and
(c) the mechanism for ensuring that the under bridges provided remain usable throughout the year by preventing water logging during monsoons?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a): Satara District of Maharashtra falls in the jurisdiction of Central Railway & not in South Central Railway. 14 Level Crossings (LCs) in Satara District have been closed in last five years (from April 2016 - March -21), by construction of RUBs. At present there are 18 LCs in Satara district, out of which 9 LCs are sanctioned for replacement by Road over Bridges/Road under Bridges (ROBs/RUBs).
(b): Railway has policy to eliminate the level crossings having Traffic Vehicle Unit (TVU)>1 lakh by replacing them with ROBs/RUBs on cost sharing basis. Further, LCs are also eliminated by construction of ROB/RUBs at the cost of Railways or State Government, based on their requirement, if technically feasible.
(c): Adequate drainage arrangement has been made integral part of planning of new underbridges. In existing underbridges several measures like water flow diversion to nearest bridge & nallahs, provision of covered shed on approach roads, provision of hump at entry to RUB, provision of drain etc. have been made as per requirements. In addition, pumping arrangement has also been made in identified RUBs, to drain out water expeditiously in case of emergency.
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