State accords administrative sanction for ₹100 crore for Kotipalli-Narsapuram railway line

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

A farmer relaxes under the canopy of coconut trees near Maagam, one of the stops proposed under the Kotipalli-Narsapur railway line, in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. | Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU

The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday issued administrative sanction for ₹100 crore for the long-pending 57-km Kotipalli-Narsapur railway line project. This was in line with its commitment to share 25% of the total project cost.

The project, initially estimated to cost ₹2,120 crore, had been sanctioned in 2001 on a cost-sharing basis, with the Government of Andhra Pradesh requiring to foot 25% of it. Stone for the project was laid in Amalapuram by then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Over the past 24 years, the State government had deposited ₹52.69 crore. The Ministry of Railways had spent ₹1,181.19 crore as of March 2024.

Konaseema Sadhana Samithi members displaying a photocopy of the article published in The Hindu on the Konaseema railway project during a round-table conference in Amalapuram on September 29. | Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU

The latest fund release followed an article published in the Spotlight column of The Hindu titled, ‘25 years on, Konaseema Railway Line project yet to get on track’, on September 18.

In response to the article, the Konaseema Railway Sadhana Samithi (KRSS) convened a round-table conference here on September 29 and passed a resolution to revive the movement for the Konaseema railway project.

The State government is also yet to hand over 238 hectares of land to the Ministry of Railways for the railway project.

The Department of Transport, Roads & Buildings issued G.O. R.T. 575 according an administrative sanction of ₹100 crore to speed up the railway project.

“The Government of Andhra Pradesh has informed the Railways that it is willing to share 25% of the total project cost, covering both Land Acquisition (LA) and civil components, as per the original agreement. Any cost incurred in the interregnum towards LA will also be settled towards the State share component,” said Kona Sasidhar, Secretary to the Government, in the G.O. 

The fund will be transferred to the Revenue Divisional Officer, Amalapuram, while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema District Collector will take further action.

“The release of ₹100 crore grant will help speed up the Kotipalli-Narsapur railway project, which has been pending for many years. I am thankful to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy CM K. Pawan Kalyan for the grant on the 75th birth anniversary of my father GM.C. Balayogi,” Amalapuram MP G.M. Harish Balayogi told The Hindu . The project was the brainchild of Mr. G.M.C. Balayogi, India’s first Dalit Lok Sabha Speaker.

Meanwhile, KRSS convener E.R. Subramanyam, Steering Committee members Kalvakolanu Tataji and Sappa Nageswara Rao, and MLC Kudipudi Suryanarayana thanked the government for resuming the project as promised in the run-up to the 2024 elections.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.