Railway speeds up ₹1,540-cr Chandigarh-Baddi rail link

To speed up construction of the Chandigarh-Baddi railway line, the Union railway ministry has not just accorded it the status of ‘special railway project' but also approved ₹1,540 crore for the mega project, which has been fast tracked. According to TP Singh, GM, Northern railways, officials will review scores of other projects in the region, and whenever land is to be acquired for a project, a notification will be directly issued by the railways, instead of waiting for government clearance. Of the 28 km Chandigarh-Baddi line, 25km lies in Haryana and three in Himachal Pradesh. While HP has already given its share of Rs 45 crore for land acquisition, Haryana is yet to acquire land for the project, delaying the project which was planned in 2007. But with the special project status, the railways can now begin the land acquisition process as it is now empowered to do so.