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Hubli-Ankola Rail Project Awaits Green Signal

  • The Supreme Court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) will study the environmental impact of the proposed railway line between Hubli and Ankola.“The latest report by a team headed by Union Ministry of Forests Additional Director General P B Gangopadhyay about the much awaited project has been submitted to the CEC for further analysis. The CEC will recommend its opinion about the project to the Supreme Court, Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa told reporters here.

  • The Gangopadhyay committee has said that for the project around 729 hectare of forest land is required and 2.80 lakh trees chopped. Besides, the 163-km railway line will pass through the sensitive tiger reserve area where two major rivers ,Bedthi and Kali, flow.The railway line project, pending for over the past several years due to opposition from environmentalists, was considered vital for the economic development of northern Karnataka as it would directly connect the region to  the port.

  • In the coming Railway Budget, like last year, this year too the State may get some major projects. The Karnataka government has requested the Centre to take up four major new railway lines—Gadag-Wadi, Srinivaspura-Madanapalli, Mulbagal-Chittur and Alamatti-Koppal. The State has agreed to provide 50 per cent of the cost for laying these new lines  under a cost sharing scheme, sources said.Muniyappa said he had requested the state government to handover the land for the project at the earliest.

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