New land act to raise Freight Corridor land costs from Rs. 16000 Cr to Rs. 20000 Cr.

The cost of land acquisition for the ambitious dedicated freight corridor, is expected to go up from Rs.16000 crores to a little over Rs.20000 crores because the railways has now begun the process of acquiring land under the newer Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013.

This act became law from January 1, 2014 and it has provisions which the government as well as the railways claim, is better than previous laws as far as compensation for land-owners is concerned.

The project, at a total cost of Rs.81500 crores being built by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC), was previously acquiring land under the Railway Amendment Act, 2008, said officials. A total of 10548 hectares or 105.48 square kilometres of land is required for the high speed freight corridor than runs across nine states of India.

“The rise in land costs is not of significance when you consider the commitment of the DFCC to ensure that nobody whose land is acquired feels cheated or short-changed. It is a project that is going to change the way railways transport freight and there should be no compromise on such important issues as land acquisition,” said an official. More than three lakh people are set to be affected by the twin legs of the project.

As of now the DFCC has disbursed a sum of Rs.4959 crores for land acquisition and rehabilitation for the projects western leg between Jawaharlal Nehru Port near Mumbai and Dadri near Noida in Uttar Pradesh. Officials said that out of the Rs.4959 crores disbursed, a sum of Rs.4600 crore was for land compensation and the rest Rs.359 crore under rehabilitation.

As per the 2016-17 Pink Book – the railways book on budgeted expenditure for a financial year- a sum of Rs.3000 crores was allotted by the railways for land acquisition. This includes Rs.1500 crores for the western leg of the freight corridor between Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Dadri and Rs.1420 crores for the eastern leg between Dankuni (West Bengal) and Ludhiana (Punjab).

Box: Why the DFC is important for the railways:The share of the railways is steadily failing when it comes to transporting goods across the country. According to figures available from the Twelfth Five Year Plan, India, the railways share of goods transport stands at 36 percent compared to 48 percent in the United States and 47 percent in China, two of the world’s largest economies. India transports nearly 57 percent of its goods by road while it is 22 percent in China and 37 percent in the United States. According to the railways, increasing freight share will not only boost its finances but also cut down on fuel emissions that road transport brings about.

www.railnews.co.in