Shillong, May 8: Deputy Chief Minister in-charge Transport Sniawbhalang Dhar on Friday said the government will not “bulldoze” railway projects in the Khasi-Jaintia region, stressing that implementation will depend on taking all stakeholders on board.
Asked about the status of the proposal for railway projects in the region, Dhar said, “We are still negotiating with the stakeholders. That is why the government never bulldozes things.”
Mentioning about an all-party committee constituted last year to discuss the issue, he said, “An all-party committee was constituted last year. It takes time. It may take 10-15 meetings because we need to take everybody on board.”
On why the Garo Hills region appeared more receptive to railway projects, Dhar said, “Our people are different from place to place. So that is the reason we have to create awareness for all local people…Every new thing takes time.”
Asked if more railway lines would come up in Garo Hills, he replied, “Let us see. As of now, let’s see.”
Work on airport expansion soon
Meanwhile, Dhar said the work order for the expansion of Umroi airport, worth around Rs 80 crore, has been allotted and work is expected to begin soon.
“The work for expansion has been allotted. So they are yet to start the work,” he said.
He said the project should be completed within 18 months of the work order being issued.On the demand for a direct road link to the airport from the Shillong bypass, Dhar said work was already in progress.
“The work is already in progress. The road from Belfont-Langkyrding to the new Secretariat and then directly to the airport is in progress and Rs 135 crore has been sanctioned by the PWD,” he said.
Regarding land acquisition for the airport expansion, the Deputy Chief Minister said a joint inspection was required before finalising the site.
“I have told the Deputy Commissioner last month to check again and conduct another joint inspection with the Airport Authority of India to finalize the location of the additional land before we acquire it,” he said.
He also noted that a before going for land acquisition, the state government and AAI will carry out a joint inspection.
“We are ready to purchase at any point of time if the joint inspection final report is submitted to us,” he said.
