Encouraging the trend of building rail infra projects on cost sharing basis, Indian Railways has recently rolled out 40 projects of over Rs. 60,000-cr to be constructed in a joint venture with state governments. It may be recalled that as on April 1, this year, 41 railway projects involving laying of new lines with 5,650 km length have been taken-up with various state governments, said a senior Railway Ministry official. In a departure from earlier practice, railways now encourage state governments to become equal partners in projects to expedite the execution. All these projects are progressing as per the availability of resources. Every railway project requires a number of clearances from various departments of the Central and state governments, including those related to land acquisition. Forestry clearance and permission from departments like National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), PWD, irrigations and sometimes from Archaeological Survey of India are needed if the alignment is in the vicinity of a protected monument.