The Union Railway Ministry sanctioned ₹916.18 crore for doubling the 56 km track between Thakurganj in Bihar and Siliguri Junction in West Bengal. This project, along the strategic Siliguri Corridor, aims to ease traffic pressure on the main New Jalpaiguri (NJP) route. It follows earlier approvals for doubling the NJP-Siliguri corridor stretch.
The West Bengal government has formed a 20-member task force headed by the Chief Secretary to expedite stalled railway projects and resolve land acquisition issues. The task force is mandated to hold regular weekly and monthly meetings to review the progress of these projects.
The committee includes key officials from the transport, land, and public works departments to ensure seamless coordination. This move aims to clear long-standing bottlenecks and facilitate faster infrastructural development.
The task force has been created to expedite land clearance for rail projects. This carries the risk of coming into conflict with another promise for farmers, which promises farmers four times the market price, double solatium, and job opportunities in case of land acquisition for development projects.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced that the state government has directed all relevant departments to immediately hand over land to railway authorities to facilitate the completion of 61 stalled railway projects, including the Hili and Nandigram projects.
The administration also cleared long-pending police permissions to resume construction of the New Garia-Airport metro viaduct at Chingrighata crossing. State departments are currently coordinating the land transfer process to resolve these bottlenecks.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari of the approval for multiple railway projects, including a new Kolkata-Jaipur train, a third line survey between Shalimar and Ayodhya, and doubling of the NJP-Siliguri corridor.
These approvals follow recent state-level efforts to expedite long-pending railway infrastructure in West Bengal.
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