Centre shelves Jammu-Poonch rail line project

* Cost escalation major factor

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, Jan 14: Taken up as national project, the Union Government has shelved Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch railway line, which had to connect important towns like Akhnoor, Sunderbani and Nowshera by the rail link. The high estimated cost has been given as the reason for abandoning the project even after completion of survey on it, which had found the project feasible.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Union Government and the Railways Ministry have conveyed the decision to the State leadership on shelving the project due to high cost factor. The project was estimated to cost Rs 13612.81 crores and had been taken as national project in March 2012.
The then Railways Minister Mukul Roy of Trinamool Congress had announced Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch rail line as national project and excluded it from the rail budget in March 2012.
Sources said the railway line from Jammu to Poonch was being anticipated as a major project, which could have boosted the economic activity in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri and attracted tourists to various places of attraction there including the Mughal Road.
The Railways Ministry had ordered survey on Jammu-Poonch railway line and found it feasible. The Railways authorities had also prepared a Detailed Project Report on the railway line under which the rail was scheduled to touch Akhnoor, Kaleeth, Dori Daggar, Chowki Chowra, Bhambla, Sunderbani, Nowshera and Rajouri before reaching Poonch.
“The route was subjected to some minor changes at the time of launch of the project,” sources said but added that even before the launch, the Government of India has decided to shelve the project, thus, dashing hopes of a large number of people, who were hoping boost to tourism and economic activity in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch, which have a lot of tourism potential.
The proposal for railway line from Jammu to Poonch via Rajouri had been mooted a long back but it was finally in March 2012 that the Government of India had conceived it as national project at the cost of Rs 13612.81 crores on the basis of survey conducted by the Railways authorities and DPR prepared by the engineers, in which the project had clearly been described as feasible.
Sources admitted that shelving the Jammu-Poonch rail line by the Government of India in the election year when both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are due in the State could cost the Congress, which was heading the UPA Government at the Centre, very dearly.
A hope had generated among the people of border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and 2008 when survey of Jammu-Poonch railway line was taken up, which had further gained momentum in 2012 when the Centre had declared it as a national project.
The long pending project was then set to see light of the day. The projects under the national category are taken up on priority with special financial provisions from the Union Government.
The rail link that has to pass through treacherous hilly areas was first approved during the UPA-1 when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Minister. He had also got a survey for the railway line conducted.
Sources said the Centre has decided to shelve the project on the basis of reports of cost escalation as the project was likely to be delayed beyond prescribed time period due to treacherous route it had to cover beyond Akhnoor due to hilly terrain. The route would have proved very useful for the Army, which had been deployed in large number in the two border districts of Rajouri and Poonch.

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