No land allotted by Karnataka government for Dharwad-Belagavi railway line: Ashwini Vaishnaw

In September 2019, the central government approved the construction of a 73 km long railway line between Dharwad and Belagavi.

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the Karnataka Government has not handed over any land to build the railway line between Dharwad and Belagavi.

"New line between Belagavi and Dharwad via Kittur (73 Km) has been sanctioned on 50:50 cost sharing basis between the Railways and the Government of Karnataka and land to be provided free of cost by the Government of Karnataka," the Minister said in his written statement in Lok Sabha.

"The State Government has entrusted the land acquisition to KIADB (Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board). Requisitions for acquisition of 888 acres of land have been submitted to KIADB, out of which no land has been handed over," the Minister said while replying to Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha member Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.

While answering another question on Talaguppa – Sirsi – Hubbali new line, the Minister said final local survey for this 158 km line via Tadas has been sanctioned for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR).

In September 2019, the central government approved the construction of a 73 km long line between Dharwad and Belagavi. They estimated that around 600 acres of land in Belagavi district and 230 acres in Dharwad district will be required for the project. The total cost of the project is Rs 927 crore. It has been a long standing demand of the people of this region to have a new railway line which will considerably shorten the travel timings between the two cities.