Now Reading: Centre gives Hubballi-Ankola railway project special status
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Centre gives Hubballi-Ankola railway project special status
The union government has notified the 163-km Hubballi-Ankola broad-gauge double railway line as a special railway project under the Railways Act, 1989. The Deccan Herald reports that the status allows South Western…
The Story in Brief
The union government has notified the 163-km Hubballi-Ankola broad-gauge double railway line as a special railway project under the Railways Act, 1989. The Deccan Herald reports that the status allows South Western Railway to begin land acquisition for the Rs 18,424-crore project, which passes through 13 villages in Hubballi taluk and 56 more across Dharwad and Uttara Kannada districts.
The project still requires clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and final recommendations from the Wildlife Institute of India, as 586 hectares of forest land must be diverted in the biodiversity hotspot. Work on a 47-km stretch between Hubballi and Kirawati is already complete. SWR expects to issue acquisition notices and offer 30 days for landowner objections before finalising compensation.
The Indian Opinion
The special railway project tag promises speed but skips past the hard question: 586 hectares of Western Ghats forest, home to elephants and tigers, must still be diverted. Wildlife Institute of India recommendations are pending, and environment ministry approval is far from guaranteed. The real test? Whether land acquisition ends within the promised 30-day objection period, or drags on for years as past projects have.
Source: deccanherald.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
