Land acquisition process begins
Once operational, the link will lessen the distance between Amritsar and Mumbai by 240km
› We have received instructions from the state government to expedite work on the project. We have started the process of acquiring land for the rail link. NAVRAJ SINGH BRAR, Patti sub-divisional magistrate
TARNTARAN: The process of acquiring land for the construction of Patti-Makhu rail link project that will connect Majha and Malwa regions has finally begun.
Once constructed, the rail link will not only lessen the distance between two border districts— Amritsar and Ferozepur—from the present 118 km to 86 km, but also between Amritsar and Mumbai by 240 km.
“We have got instructions from the state government to expedite work on the project. We have started the process of acquiring land for the rail link,” said sub-divisional magistrate (SDM)-cum-competent authority for land acquisition (CALA), Patti, Navraj Singh Brar.
“I was asked to provide the list of the land in villages that was to be acquired for the project to Tarn Taran deputy commissioner (DC) Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal. I have handed over the list of around 8 villages,” said district revenue officer (DRO) Arvinderpal Singh.
The state government had sanctioned ₹40 crore for the land acquisition in March.
As per information, around 165 acres of land will be acquired for the project—70 acres will be acquired by Tarn Taran administration while 95 acres will be acquired by Ferozepur administration. The land will be acquired for the 25-km stretch of the broadgauge link between Gharyala railway station on the AmritsarKhemkaran line at Patti in Tarn Taran and Mallanwala railway station on the Ferozepur-Jalandhar line in Makhu.
Though the crucial rail link was given green signal in the 2013 rail budget, the matter remained hanging due to disagreement between the Center and state governments over land acquisition. State BJP chief Shwait Malik had blamed Punjab government for the delay saying that ‘as per the law, the land should be acquired by the state’. However, Punjab government had said that Centre should acquire the land.
Amritsar member of Parliament (MP) Gurjit Singh Aujla had said that he had written to the Centre asking the Indian Railways to acquire the land as the project will benefit five other states apart from Punjab.
The rail link once completed will be boon for the farmers of the Majha and Malwa regions as it will allow them to send vegetables and fruits to markets in Mumbai and Gujarat and other areas within two-three days.
The ministry of railways had cleared about ₹300 crore for the project during the 2017-18 fiscal. However, funds remain unutilised as the land could not be acquired, said Punjab Vyapar Mandal general secretary Sameer Jain.
Jain said, “We have struggled for 14 years for the project. In 2004, our former president Amrit Lal Jain had also sought help of the then Prime Minister (PM) Manmohan Singh. After this, the survey was conducted by the railway ministry and in 2013, the then railway minister Pawan Bansal had given his nod to the project.”
Malik, who estimated total cost of the project over ₹1000 crore, said the Centre will release more funds after the first installment is utilised.
Prior to 1947, Ferozepur was linked with the provincial capital, Lahore, and the commercial and industrial capital, Amritsar, via Kasur, a tehsil headquarter-2 in Lahore district. After Partition, Kasur came under Pakistan’s jurisdiction, following which the railway link between Majha-Malwa was snapped.