By IANS,
New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday told the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, that there were multiple options for land acquisition that would be kept in mind while procuring land for various rail projects.
“Our endeavour will be to cause least hardship to people when we acquire land for development projects,” Banerjee told the Lok Sabha during the supplementary demand for grants for the railways worth over Rs.731 crore for 2009-10.
According to her, her ministry has in place a blueprint for acquisition of land in a humane manner.
Banerjee, whose Trinamool Congress Party has often been held responsible for Tata Motors moving out its Nano small car plant from West Bengal to Gujarat, also said she was committed to all railway projects irrespective of the region.
Regarding the two dedicated freight corridors, the minister said 21,500 acres would be provided for the purpose.
Reiterating that there was no move to privatise the railways, she said: “The railways are for the people, by the people, of the people.”
Banerjee also urged states to ensure that trains are not stopped illegally for agitations or other purposes.
“You cannot stop the rail because you have the Telegana agitation in Andhra Pradesh or elsewhere in the country. The railway has to be kept moving. It should not be stopped. The states and the members of parliament should help the railways to ensure this.”
She referred to the examinations for recruitment in the railways through the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs), and said tests would be taken in all regional languages, apart from Hindi, English and Urdu.
“The examinations in all the regional and official languages will be held across the country on the same day.”
Earlier, opposition members took the government to task for non-implementation of railway projects announced up to a decade ago.
Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party said a railway track announced in 1996 between Gwalior and Mainpuri had not yet been completed, adding that successive governments had delayed the project as it would benefit his constituency.
Dinesh Chandra Yadav of Janata Dal-United said there was no plan for doubling of tracks in Bihar and that nothing had been done for laying down of seven new tracks.