At a press conference in the City on Saturday, Muniyappa answering a question on the delay in completing projects, took a swipe at the State stating that projects were being delayed because the land was not handed over to them.

 “Each year the State is getting new projects. But it is not responding quickly enough to hand over the land required for the project. If they give the land, we can complete the project within five years from that time.” he said.

He also said that the two projects announced for the State last year, the Kuduchi-Bagalkot line and Hospet -Vasco had been stalled even though the Railways had allocated Rs 532 cr.

“No land has been sanctioned to us to even begin these projects. Otherwise work would have already begun. Even the request for 78 acres of land near Mandya has been ignored,” he said.

Muniyappa said he planned to call for a meeting of State and railway officials to discuss if the government could fast track land acquisitions for the Railways.

The Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had expressed his satisfaction with the Railway allocations to Karnataka on Friday, did a volte-face on Saturday morning and vowed to meet the Union Minister for Railways Mamata Bannerjee to discuss the injustice done to the State.

Trains to Karwar

The two trains to Mangalore which ply during night and day will be extended upto Karwar, said Muniyappa. Mamata Bannerjee had announced during the budget that only the day train would be extended to Karwar. But after it was pointed out that extending both the trains upto Karwar would help the public, the proposal was okayed.

The Golden Rail Corridor Fast Track from Bangalore-Chennai could be taken up on a priority basis. If implemented, these superfast trains would run at speeds of 180 km and reduce travel time to just three hours.