chennai: chief minister of tamil nadu Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, seeking urgent intervention and directing the Railway Ministry to expedite sanctioned projects in the state by releasing required funds and reviving those that had been shelved.Stalin highlighted that progress on several key railway projects has been hampered due to “delay in release of funds by the Ministry of Railways” and partial funding of individual projects.He pointed out that an official press release stated that while the state government has approved the acquisition of 2,500.61 hectares of land for various federal railway projects, the Railway Ministry is yet to allocate funds for 931.52 hectares of land.“Delays in release of funds and piecemeal allocation…have hampered the progress of rail projects in Tamil Nadu,” the chief minister said, adding that this had created a state of “protracted uncertainty” for affected landowners.Stalin pointed out that 94% of land acquisition for 19 major projects has been completed, of which 1,198.02 hectares have been handed over to the Railways. He specifically cited the case of the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniyakumari Broad Gauge Doubling project, for which land acquisition of 16.86 hectares remains stalled as the Railways is yet to release the necessary compensation of Rs 2897.8 crore.The prime minister urged the prime minister to ensure “priority and full” release of funds for sanctioned projects to facilitate smooth land acquisition. He also demanded that key projects currently on hold, including the Thoothukudi-Madurai (via Aruppukottai) and Tindivanam-Tiruvannamalai broad gauge railways, be “reconsidered and restarted”.Stalin highlighted Tamil Nadu’s role as India’s second-largest economy and expressed concern over the “relatively low” allocations for new railway projects in the state in recent years. He called for an increase in projects commensurate with the state’s “economic status and development needs.”“I am confident that with your intervention and continued spirit of cooperative federalism, these concerns will be quickly addressed for the mutual benefit of the state and the nation,” the letter said.Stalin assured the Prime Minister of the state government’s full cooperation for “speedy execution” of all railway projects. PTI
