Railway hindering Narmada canal work in Gujarat

Railway authorities are becoming a major reason for delay of construction of new Narmada canals in the state as it’s not clearing state government’s proposals for the crossover bridges on the Narmada canals and clearing other required technical proposals.

Highly placed sources in the state government informed that,“pipelines to be laid in various multi village water supply projects have to cross various Railway tracks, for which necessary permissions are to be obtained from authorized officials of Railways. The process of getting permissions from Railways is very lengthy and due to the delays in getting permission from various levels, the projects get delayed. Due to delay in implementation of projects not only cost over runs are observed but also the population of scarcity prone areas has to wait for benefits from such water supply infrastructure. In several cases, permissions have been pending since more than 2 years.”

“At present, many proposals for various water supply projects are pending for approval at different levels in Railways. 5 Bulk pipeline works in Junagadh and Amreli districts are the most critical and if approval is not given in time, scheduled completion and dedication of the projects will be greatly delayed which may cause water crisis during summer months.” added the sources.

Sources further informed that, “Due to delays in getting permission from Railways, projects in Jamnagar, Rajkot and Anand districts are also getting delayed. At several places, almost all the works except the railway crossings have already been completed and people of about 824 villages have to wait for water supplies in such difficult areas for a long time. Even after consistent follow-up by this department, permission for the same is still awaited from the Railways. We may request Ministry of Railways for issuing necessary directions to expedite the matter and grant necessary permission for the proposals.”