Union railway min rejects Stalin’s charge, says land acquisition delaying railway projects in TN

Chennai: Union railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday rejected Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin's charge that railway projects in the state were delayed due to the non-release of funds by the Union govt, reiterating that land acquisition by the state govt was the key delaying factor.In a series of posts on X, Vaishnaw also dismissed the charge that Union govt was not sanctioning new railway projects to TN. ``Budget allocation to Tamil Nadu has increased more than 8.5 times since 2014, reaching ₹7,611 crore in 2026–27,'' he said adding the Centre continued to sanction new lines, doublings and additional tracks in the state.
The response came in the wake of Stalin writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday seeking allotment of funds to expedite land acquisition for railway projects. Refuting Vaishnaw's earlier statement that land acquisition was slow in TN, Stalin said non allocation of funds was the reason for delay in the process. He also sought new railway projects to TN. He said the Centre had paid ₹1,465 crore to the TN govt towards land acquisition, but the handover of land was pending. "Projects are not stalled due to lack of funds. Such a claim is baseless," he said. Vaishnaw said for ongoing railway projects in TN, only 24% of the required land was handed over so far — 1,052 hectares out of a total requirement of 4,326 hectares.He said 91% land acquisition was pending for the 144-km Madurai–Thoothukudi line via Aruppukkottai and 86% for the 71.33-km Tindivanam–Gingee–Tiruvannamalai line. Stalin had blamed the delay on issuing revised land plan schedule (LPS) and said administrative sanction for land acquisition for the two projects will be issued shortly.For the Rameswaram–Dhanushkodi new line project, Vaishnaw said land acquisition has not begun ``due to a lack of cooperation from TN govt." He said the Centre has sanctioned new projects including Chennai Beach–Egmore 4.3-km fourth line and Tambaram–Chengalpattu 30-km fourth line. Detailed project reports have been prepared for Salem–Karur–Dindigul, Thanjavur–Karaikal and Arakkonam–Chengalpattu line doubling projects, he said.Additionally, 77 stations in TN were identified for Amrit Bharat redevelopment, with work completed at 18. He said 1,350 km of tracks were built since 2014, 97% electrification has been completed across 2,386 km while nine pairs each of Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat services are operational in the state.