– Raises the issue as a Special Mention in Rajya sabha today
Establishment of Visakhapatnam railway zone had been a major demand and emotional issue for the people of Visakhapatnam and Uttarandhra region for many decades. People of the Uttarandhra region rejoiced when the Union Cabinet on February 28, 2019 cleared the proposal for the establishment of South Coast Railway Zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
“Setting up of the new Railway Zone will bring optimality with regard to size and scale of railway operations and also to meet the persistent demand and aspirations of the people of the area”, Government of India’s press statement then read.
Last month, the Railway Board has sanctioned detailed estimates for the construction of the new South Coast railway zone headquarters in Visakhapatnam with a budget of Rs.106 crore. Railway Board has also issued orders assigning the construction work of the new Visakhapatnam Railway Zone headquarters to East Coast Zone officials after getting designs sanctioned.
However, delay of handing over of 52 acres of land by the state government for the construction of the headquarters of the proposed Visakhapatnam railway zone headquarters in Mudisarlova area of Visakhapatnam in lieu of the Railway land taken by the state government as a compensatory measure has inordinately delayed operationalisation of the Visakhapatnam railway zone.
I appeal to the Ministry of Railways to immediately get pending land issues sorted out and begin construction of the headquarters of the South Coast Railway zone in the next two months and operationalise the South Coast railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam within a few months thereafter.
