Shillong, July 9 : Rail connectivity in Meghalaya is still a far cry with the proposed railway line linking Byrnihat in the state to Azara in Assam hitting a stumbling block.
State chief secretary Ranjan Chatterjee told reporters today after a meeting with the officials of the North East Frontier Railway here that the 24km proposed railway line from Azara (12km in Assam) to Byrnihat (12km in Ri Bhoi) had hit hurdles due to land acquisition problems in Assam.
As far as the proposed railway line is concerned, the objections from the people of Assam living near Azara is that they will lose their paddy fields once the line is constructed.
According to Chatterjee, the people of Assam have also expressed concern over the possible dismantling of several houses in the area.
“After the meeting with the railway officials, Meghalaya chief minister D.D. Lapang met senior officials and even suggested that the matter be taken up with his Assam counterpart Tarun Gogoi so that the pending problem can be resolved.
Chatterjee said the survey work along the 12km area in Byrnihat had been completed and the total cost of the project on the Meghalaya side alone was Rs 547 crore.
“Though Meghalaya is ready for construction of the railway line in the area, we have not made any headway even for a survey on the Assam side,” Chatterjee said.
He also added that once the railway line was constructed at Byrnihat, efforts would be made to extend it to Nongpoh.
The second project that Meghalaya is looking at is the 19km railway line from Dudhnoi in Assam to Mendipather connecting East Garo Hills of Meghalaya.
The project cost of the railway line is estimated at Rs 82 crore and it will cover 10km in Assam and 9km in Meghalaya.
Though Assam has no objection to this project sanctioned in 1996, the survey work on both sides is yet to take place.
“We will ask the East Garo Hills district administration to begin the land acquisition process at the earliest,” Chatterjee said.
He hoped that both these rail projects could be completed within four years after the start of the construction work.
The chief secretary also said another project at the estimated cost of Rs 1,600 crore to connect all the border areas of Meghalaya was submitted to the Union railway ministry last year by the Northeast Frontier Railway.
The proposed railway project aims to connect Jogighopa in Goalpara to Dawki-Shella in Meghalaya and the line can be extended to Badarpur in Silchar. The project will also connect areas in Baghmara (South Garo Hills).
“The intention of having this railway line is to connect all the plains belt falling under the Indo-Bangladesh border,” Chatterjee said.
Meghalaya does not have any rail connectivity and in the latter part of 1980s, some social organisations had opposed railway projects saying it would lead to influx.