Vijayawada: Putting Amaravati railway line project on fast track, the South Central Railway (SCR) has decided to go for acquisition of land in Khammam, NTR and Guntur districts. The new line will commence from Yerrupalem in Khammam district and connect Nambur station in Guntur via capital city Amaravati.
Recently, the Union cabinet cleared the 57-km long new railway line to connect capital city Amaravati with a cost of Rs 2,245 crore. While the Centre wanted to complete the project in the next four years, chief minister Chandrababu Naidu requested the Centre to complete it in three years.
The railway authorities kick-started the measures for land acquisition within a fortnight after the Union cabinet gave green signal to the project.
Curiously, almost 80 percent of the land required for the railway line on AP soil is readily available with the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA). The state govt had already expressed its willingness to transfer the land to railways after finalization of the alignment. Sources said that only a small extent of land is required in NTR district which will also be acquired through the land acquisition Act.
The SCR has decided to acquire about 60 acres of land in Yerrupalem and Kesireddypalle villages of Yerrupalem mandal in Khammam district. The draft notification has appealed to the farmers to file their objections with the land acquisition special deputy collector within 30 days.
The proposed railway line will have nine stations between Yerrupalem and Nambur junctions. The central govt had already decided to develop multi-model cargo station at Paritala in NTR district. Paritala near Nandigama will become a major freight carrier junction on the new railway line. While Yerrupalem is located on the existing railway line between Vijayawada-Hyderabad, the other end of the new line-Nambur station is located between Vijayawada-Guntur.
The state govt has requested the ministry of railways to develop Amaravati railway station as one of the biggest and as a model railway station in the country. The state govt is willing to spare around 1,500 acres of land for the development of Amaravati station.
