This dedicated freight corridor will run across 9 states, 61 districts and 2,100 villages from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to Punjab.
The railway ministry will spend almost Rs 3,000 crore this fiscal to acquire land for the ambitious Rs 81,500 crore dedicated freight corridor (DFC). It will include Rs 1,500 crore for the western leg of the freight corridor between Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Dadri in Uttar Pradesh, and Rs 1,420 crore for the eastern leg between Dankuni in West Bengal and Ludhiana in Punjab.
The project is expected to be commissioned in phases from late 2018 and acquiring land, an extremely tricky proposition in the country, is one of the big hurdles. As of late 2015, officials said 85% of the 10,548 hectares the project needs has been acquired. The corridor will run across 9 states, 61 districts and 2,100 villages from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to Punjab.
The project's Mumbai to Vadodara leg is also in the midst of a land tussle, as the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) and the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) are unable to come to an agreement over the land required for the project between Panvel and JN Port. While CIDCO had asked for Rs3,200 crore for 39 hectares, DFCC refused to play ball. As reported by dna in its March 11 edition, the two sides have now reached an agreement.
Under the agreement, CIDCO has 14.4 hectares of vacant land, which will be given to the DFCC at around Rs42 crore per hectare, which comes to around Rs600 crore in all. Another 7 hectares of land belonging to the revenue department will be acquired from the state directly by DFCC, under rates set down by the collector, said sources. The third lot of almost 10 hectares is CIDCO land that has 3rd party interests (as in private entities using the land under various agreements with CIDCO), which will be acquired by the DFCC under the Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008.
On its part, DFCC has reduced the land acquisition area from 39 hectares to a little over 32 hectares by bringing about minor changes to the construction work. "The project is flush with funds, thanks to the keen interest being paid by the Prime Minister's Office. It is now for the states and railways to ensure that the land is acquired quickly and the pace of work is increased, so as to meet the 2018-19 deadline," said an official.
Land Game
Total land required for DFC: 10,548 hectares or 105.48sqkm
Total land acquired: Over 85%
Land acquisition held-up on DFC: 440 patches across 358km
Arbitration cases on land acquisition: 6,300 (of which 3,125 finalised)
Court cases on land acquisition: 1,445 (of which 432 finalised)
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