No going back on promise to grant land for rail shed: Morey

No going back on promise to grant land for rail shed: Morey

The Hindu

SOLVING PROBLEMS: Ministers H.K. Patil, S.R. Morey, Jabbarkhan Honnalli and Basavaraj Horatti at a meeting on problems related to Railways in Hubli on Monday.
HUBLI: There is no question of going back on the promise by the former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to grant 100 acres of land at Navalur between Hubli and Dharwad to shift the railway goods shed, which will be converted into a railway station.

This was made clear by S.R. Morey, Minister for Municipal Administration; Jabbar Khan Honnalli, Minister for Sports and Youth Services, and Basavaraj Horatti, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj. They were responding to questions by presspersons after attending a meeting of elected representatives convened by Pralhad Joshi, Dharwad North MP.

Mr. Morey was clarifying the doubts raised on his remarks made at the meeting earlier. He had said that the land in question is under the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board and it cannot be given free. Mr. Morey made it clear that there has to be a proposal to that effect before any decision can be taken. So far, the State Government has not received any proposal from South Western Railway. "Let the proposal come and the Government will take a suitable decision. There is no question of going back on the promise made by Mr. Krishna," Mr. Morey said Earlier in the meeting, Mr. Morey said perhaps Mr. Krishna had not realised that the land in question is with the KIADB when he made the promise.

Jagadish Shettar, President of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said he was present when Mr. Krishna made the promise at a function to lay the foundation stone of the SWR's zonal office by the then Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and the promise should be honoured.

H.K. Patil, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, said some arrangement could be worked out with the Railways with regard to the land. The Railways could transfer some part of its land, which the administration might need in lieu of transfer of 100 acres. The transferred land may not be equal to what is sought by the Railways, he added. A.D. Mainrai, Divisional Railway Manager, said the Railways may not be having vacant land that may be of any help to the district administration. Mr. Pralhad Joshi said shifting of the Goods Shed is crucial for the development of the Hubli railway station. It is also coming in the way of introduction of new trains. Every time a proposal is made, the limitation of space at the station is cited as one of the reasons. The Government should honour the commitment of Mr. Krishna and transfer the land free of cost, he added. Railway officials said the Railway Board has rejected proposals for buying land in view of the promise made by Mr. Krishna.

The Ministers asked the officials to send a proposal to the State Government and invited them to attend a meeting to be convened in Bangalore shortly by Mr. Morey in this connection.

On the work on Bijapur-Bagalkot-Gadag railway line, the officials were asked to send details to enable the Government to release Rs. 35 crores during this financial year itself. The remaining funds could be given the next year to enable the work to be completed by March 2007.

The officials said the work on the Bijapur-Bagalkot section has ended and the line will be opened for traffic soon.