Indore: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of Indore-Manmad new broad gauge line in Dhule, Maharashtra, on Saturday. The rail line, which is more than 100 years old, will cost Rs 9,000 crore and will be 339 kilometres long. The project will help in reducing the distance between Indore and Mumbai by 170 kilometres and provide direct access to export goods from Pithampur and Dewas to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
The distance from Indore to Mumbai is 829 kms via Ratlam. The train reaches Mumbai from Indore in about 13 hours. Distance by the new line will be reduced by 170 kms to 659 kms and the journey will be covered in nine hours. Mumbai can be reached via Nashik. The passengers will also find alternate route for south India.
Besides, new railway line will help in development of backward, tribals areas of Maharashtra and MP. This railway route will also reduce distance of Delhi, Chennai and Bangaluru from the city. On initiative of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Gadkari had announced financial assistance from the shipping ministry last year.
The foundation laying function will held at 1 pm on Saturday where Governor of Maharasthra C Vidyasagar Rao, chief minister Devendra Fadanvis, union shipping minister Nitin Gadkari and railway minister Piyush Goyal will be present. On this occasion, PM Modi will also issue a letter of sanction for the cost of 492 tenders, which were released on January 31, 2019. Manoj Marathe, chief of Indore-Manmad Rail Sangharsh Samiti, who has been fighting the case in the court for last 22 years, has expressed happiness over Indore-Manmad railway project taking off.
Project at a Glance
MP, Maharashtra and railway ministry will contribute 15% fund each while shipping ministry will contribute 55% fund for the project. Broadly, the fund share of Maharasthra will be Rs 518 crore, while MP’s share will be Rs 500 crore in the form of land cost. Through royalty, Rs 400 crore will be given back to the state.
MP has agreed on this formula. A total of Rs 9,000 crore will be spent on the railway line. In this 339 km-long project, 186 kms fall in Maharashtra and 176 kms in MP. The project will require 2008 hectares of land. Out of this, 964 hectares of Maharashtra and 1044 hectares of MP area will be acquired.
