Clears Infra Plans Worth Rs 12,236 Crore
New Delhi/Jamshedpur: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved several major infrastructure and policy decisions, including the construction of the 3rd and 4th railway line between Gamharia and Chandil (Jharkhand) at a cost of Rs 1,168 crore. The total financial outlay of all the approved projects stands at Rs 12,236 crore.
The 26-km-long Gamharia–Chandil project will significantly enhance rail capacity in the region. The project includes the construction of 13 major bridges and 59 minor bridges. It will also have two Road Over Bridges (ROBs), 13 Road Under Bridges (RUBs), two Railway Over Railway (ROR) structures and four level crossings. The total track length under the project will be 68 km.
According to official details, the project will improve connectivity to major tourist destinations such as Chandil Dam, Dalma Hill Top, Hesakocha Waterfall, Raijama Ghati, Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and Jayanti Sarovar. It will also cater to key economic hubs including mines, power plants, industries and Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
The new lines are expected to boost transportation of coal and iron ore to major steel plants in Durgapur, Bokaro and Burnpur. The project will facilitate additional freight traffic of 26.8 million tonnes per annum.
Officials said the project will help save about 6 crore kg of CO₂ annually, equivalent to planting nearly 25 lakh trees. It is also expected to reduce logistics costs by Rs 139 crore every year and generate around 18 lakh human-days of employment.
The decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Cabinet also cleared the doubling of the Gondia–Jabalpur rail line at an estimated cost of Rs 5,236 crore and approved the 3rd and 4th rail line project between Punarkh and Kiul at a cost of Rs 2,668 crore.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today has approved 3 (Three) projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs. 9,072 crore (approx.). These projects include:
- Gondia – Jabalpur Doubling
- Punarakh – Kiul 3rd and 4th line
- Gamharia – Chandil 3rd and 4th line
The 3 (three) projects covering 8 Districts across the states of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 307 Kms.
The proposed multi-tracking project will enhance connectivity to approx. 5,407 villages, which are having a population of about 98 lakhs.
The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s Vision of a New India which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by way of comprehensive development in the area which will enhance their employment/ self-employment opportunities.
The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity & logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.
The projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, steel, iron ore, cement, ballast and stone chips, fly ash, fertilizers, limestone, manganese, dolomite, foodgrains, POL etc. The capacity augmentation works will result in additional freight traffic of magnitude 52 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum). The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country, reduce oil import (6 Crore Litres) and lower CO2 emissions (30 Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of One Crore trees.
