Land acquisition, fund allocation by TN govt causing delay: Centre
Actual execution of railway projects is stalled as TN has been slow to act, Vaishnaw
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CHENNAI: Land acquisition and fund allocation by the Tamil Nadu government are the reasons for the delay in the railway projects in Tamil Nadu, said Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in Lok Sabha while replying to questions by Cuddalore MP MK Vishnu Prasad and Namakkal MP VS Mathewsaran.
"Only 24 per cent of the land required is acquired by the Railways for the projects in the state. And 7.5 times the budget allocation has increased in Tamil Nadu," he said.
The total land required in Tamil Nadu is 4,326 hectares (Ha), land acquired is 1,052 Ha (24 per cent), and the remaining land to be acquired is 3,274 Ha (76 per cent). Budget allocation in recent years has increased significantly in Tamil Nadu for infrastructure projects. In 2009-14, the budget allocation for the state was Rs 879 crores per year, which has increased to Rs 6,626 crore by 7.5 times in 2025- 26. A total of 21 railway projects, including Chennai Beach–Attipattu fourth line, Chennai Beach–Korukkupet third line, and Chennai Beach–Egmore doubling, were also completed.
"Chennai-Cuddalore via Mahabalipuram, Marakanam, Puducherry (179 Km) new line project was included in the budget 2008-09. The Puducherry government had requested for change in alignment towards the Northern and Southern side of Villupuram–Puducherry existing line, as well as doubling of track between Puducherry and Cuddalore. State was requested to bear additional costs due to the revision in alignment and doubling of tracks, but the government had shown their inability to bear the additional cost," Vaishnaw said.
As of April 2025, 15 projects (9 new lines, 3 gauge conversion and 3 doubling) of 1,700 Km length, costing Rs 22,808 crore, falling fully/partly in Tamil Nadu, are sanctioned, out of which 665 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 7,591 crore has been incurred up to March 2025, the minister said.
Rameshwaram–Dhanushkodi new line (18 Km) was sanctioned for Rs 734 crores. The foundation stone of the project was laid in March 2019. However, the project could not be started because the land acquisition had not been undertaken by the state government.
In the last three years (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) and the current financial year 2025-26, 28 surveys (5 new lines and 23 doubling) covering a total length of 2,493 km have been sanctioned in Tamil Nadu, he said.
"A survey for the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for a new line between Ariyalur to Namakkal via Perambalur (116 km) has been sanctioned, and the field survey has been completed. Sanctioning of the project requires consultation with various stakeholders, including state governments and necessary approvals and appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance," the minister added.
The main factors affecting the completion time and cost of railway projects include land acquisition by the state government, forest clearance, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of the area, law and order situation in the area of the project site, number of working months in a year for a particular project site.
"The Railway Ministry has to initiate the acquisition from the state government by paying the land amount. They are repeatedly blaming the state government for land acquisition. Many railway projects have been pending for more than a decade. We can't blame the state government for a delay for more than 10 years when the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) can acquire the land and complete their projects," said Dayanand Krishnan, a transportation activist.
