Rail lines off-track

December 26: The Central Railway's ambitious plan of completing the fifth and sixth railway lines between Kurla and Thane by December 1998 ...

December 26: The Central Railway’s ambitious plan of completing the fifth and sixth railway lines between Kurla and Thane by December 1998 may stop in its tracks, courtesy the Mumbai Suburban District Collectorate.

The collectorate’s delay in sanctioning land for relocating over 2,000 encroachments on railway property near Vikhroli station has proved a major stumbling block for the project, stated railway officials. Projected to power the railways’ efficiency by a phenomenal 40 per cent, these new lines were conceived of in MUTP-II three years ago.

Nearly 8,000 slumdwellers housed in over 2,000 huts have encroached on railway property near Vikhroli for over three decades. These hutments were to be relocated to a vacant plot about a kilometre away near the Kanjurmarg salt pans. As almost all this land belongs to the suburban collectorate, the railways had sought the intervention of the state government in expediting the process of relocation. The collectorate allegedly agreed to consider the matter only after intense pressure exerted by the state government.

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Actual work on the lines began only a year ago in Thane after the project went through the usual grind of red tape in the railways. Now, irate CR officials claim that it may become operational only by the start of the next century, since as whatever work has been carried out on the project has been abysmal. Only 13-14 per cent of earth filling and track laying has been done at places near Mulund, Thane, Bhandup and Kanjurmarg. Mukul Marwah, CPRO of the CR said unless the slums are removed from the plot, the railways will not be able to achieve progress. The extension of amenities like power and drinking water to the slums makes the railways’ job more difficult, added officials.

The collectorate has passed the buck to the state government, which it says has not taken the “necessary policy decisions that are required to expedite project work.”

Mumbai Suburban District Collector Dr Sanjay Chahande said the relocation process is being tackled on top priority and the state government has also taken it up. “Important policy decisions need to be taken as relocation involves a wide spectrum of activities. Various aspects such as zoning of land, construction of houses and whether the land will be transferred to the railways or will be retained by the state government will have to be considered before actual relocation takes place,” he added.

Getting the slum dwellers to vacate will be another stumbling block for the railways. Stated the official, “Slum dwellers of the Hariyali village slums near platform number four at the station refused to shift, as the slum is only a few metress away from the station. They point out that the new site is not accessible by road to either Kanjurmarg or Vikhroli stations.”