Prepare DPR on Wadi-Gadag line, Kharge tells rly board

Railway Minister M Mallikarjun Kharge has directed the Railway Board to prepare at the earliest a detailed project report (DPR) on the Wadi-Gadag new railway line after the preliminary survey is completed.

The Wadi-Gadag line was of crucial importance as it could connect Hyderabad-Karnataka with Bombay-Karnataka, Kharge said after laying the foundation stone for doubling of 98-km Gulbarga-Hotgi line and construction of a fourth platform along with the foot overbridge at the Gulbarga railway station on Tuesday. At present, there is no direct train between Gulbarga and Hubli or Belgaum. Once the Wadi-Gadag railway line was constructed, the two regions would have direct connectivity, the minister added.

Kharge directed the Railway Board member (Engineering), Subodh Jain who shared the dais with him, to prepare the DPR at the earliest on the new line proposed in the Railway Budget for 2013-14. According to the minister, once the DPR was prepared and cleared by the Planning Commission, it could be taken to the Cabinet for approval. Thereafter, the project could be implemented.

Kharge further said that the railways had decided to use the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in its works. All masonry work in the railways could be taken up under the Act and the respective gram panchayats, under whose jurisdiction the railway line fell, involved for the purpose. “It will not only ensure proper and effective implementation of the Act but also help the railways to execute its works,’’ Kharge hoped, adding that discussions were held with the Union Rural Development Minister, Jairam Ramesh, and progress was expected soon.

According to Kharge, the 110-km Bidar-Gulbarga new railway line being constructed for the last 14 years would be completed in three-and-a-half-years if adequate funds were available every year.