Rlys seek undertaking from government for payment of arrears

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, December 4

Standoff over the construction of rail overbridge (ROB) on the Dhuri railway line near the grain market here between Northern Railways and the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) continued as railway authorities have made it clear that the funds deposited by the GLADA for the proposed ROB would be delinked only after the Punjab Government provided a written time-bound undertaking about payment of outstanding ‘way leave and land lease’ charges.

The proposed ROB, which would complete the missing links 1, 2 and 3 to connect Ferozepur Road (NH-95) with southern bypass up to Doraha has been hanging fire for over three and a half years even after the GLADA had deposited the estimated cost (for construction by railways) of Rs 21.84 crore with railway authorities in April last year.

However, to the utter dismay of the GLADA authorities, the railways had adjusted the money deposited towards cost of ROB against arrears of Rs 83.099 crore outstanding in the name of Punjab government for ‘way leave and land lease charges.

To clarify their stand on the issue the Northern Railway Deputy Chief Engineer/Construction, Jalandhar has written a letter (on December 2) to a social activist Jashan Chawla that the file for way leave and land lease for the proposed ROB was put on hold by the competent authority due to pending dues of Rs 83 crore against other works of various organisations of the state government which restricted the handing over of site for the construction of the ROB.

The railway official stated in his letter that the proposal for delinking of funds deposited by GLADA (for the ROB) has been conditionally approved by the competent authority subject to the written time-bound assurance from the state government for payment of pending dues.

It has also been made clear that once the file for way leave and land lease charges was cleared, tenders for construction of ROB would be invited and date for completion of the project would be known only after the allotment of tenders to eligible construction agency.

GLADA officials said it was a welcome development that the proposal to delink funds deposited for construction of ROB had been approved in principle. “We have taken up the matter with senior government officials through the Department of Housing and Urban Development so that the written time-bound undertaking, as desired by railways for payment of arrears towards way leave and land lease charges, was provided to railway authorities so that work on the ROB project could commence,” said a GLADA official.