The Centre has initiated the acquisition of about 8.5 hectares of land in Haryana’s Panipat district for the 198-km Delhi-Ambala third and fourth railway line, a Rs 5,983-crore project meant to decongest one of the country’s busiest rail routes.
Issued under Section 20A(1) of the Railways Act, 1989, by the railway ministry’s construction organisation, the 29 September notification appeared in the Gazette of India on 1 October.
It covers 6.1 hectares in seven villages of Samalkha tehsil and 2.3 hectares in six villages of Panipat tehsil, with khasra-wise details listed for each.
“Any person interested in the said land may, within a period of thirty days from the date of publication of this notification in the official gazette, raise objection to the acquisition and use of such land for the aforesaid purpose under sub-section (1) of section 20 D of the said Act,” the notification read.
Objections must be filed in writing before the district revenue officer (DRO), Panipat, who will hear affected persons directly or through a lawyer. The DRO’s order on the matter will be final.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the lines would strengthen connectivity across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and northern India.
“It also includes construction and rehabilitation of major and minor bridges and is now entering the construction phase. The project will add about 24 million tonnes of freight capacity, improve movement of Vande Bharat and passenger trains, save Rs 952 crore in logistics costs, generate 132 lakh human-days of employment, and reduce carbon emissions by 43 crore kilograms,” he added.
