Land acquisition delays stall key projects in Telangana: Railways Minister

The completion of four major railway projects in Telangana has been delayed due to land acquisition issues involving about 214 hectares. These projects include Guntur–Bibinagar doubling, Mudkhed–Medchal doubling (31 hectares), Mahbubnagar–Dhone doubling (70 hectares), Kazipet–Vijayawada third line (17 hectares) and Manoharabad–Kothapalli new line (96 hectares).

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Wednesday that the execution of key infrastructure projects in Telangana is being held up due to delays in acquiring approximately 764 hectares of land overall, with 1,580 hectares acquired so far.

In a written reply to questions posed by Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri, the Minister stated that the Siddipet–Siricilla (31 km) stretch of the Manoharabad–Kothapalli new line is stalled because ₹10.10 crore for forest land diversion is yet to be deposited by the State government.

For four other projects sanctioned on a cost-sharing basis at ₹4,704 crore, the government has not deposited ₹814 crore, which is ‘adversely affecting progress of works’, the Minister stated. Over the past decade, about 774 km of new track has been commissioned in Telangana with outlay for infrastructure projects gradually increasing from ₹4,418 crore (2023-24) to ₹5,336 crore (2024-25) and ₹5,337 crore (2025-26).

As of April 1, 2025, 20 projects — including six new lines and 14 doubling works totaling 2,165 km and costing ₹35,045 crore — have been sanctioned. Of these, 547 km have been commissioned, with an expenditure of ₹11,549 crore incurred up to March 2025.

Recently completed works have been: Peddapalli- Nizamabad new line (178 km), Jaggayyapeta- Janpahad new line (48 km), Akkanapet – Medak new line (17 km), Bhadrachalam Road-Sattupalli new line (56 km), Raghavapuram-Mandamari doubling (24 km), Raichur-Guntakal doubling (81 km), Secunderabad- Mahbubnagar doubling (85 km) and MMTS Phase-II (103 km).

Mr. Vaishnaw also said that in the last few years, 57 surveys (18 new line and 39 doubling) covering 5,672 km have been sanctioned falling fully/partly in Telangana.