Parliament Question: Balurghat–Hilli and Kaliyaganj–Buniadpur New Railway Line

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3153 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026 BALURGHAT HILLI AND KALIYAGANJ BUNIADPUR NEW RAILWAY LINE 3153. SHRI KARTICK CHANDRA PAUL: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) the present status of work on the Balurghat–Hilli and Kaliyaganj– Buniadpur new line projects in West Bengal; (b) whether land acquisition and forest clearance for these projects have been completed and if so, the details thereof; (c) the year-wise expenditure incurred on these two projects till date; (d) the expected timeline for completion and commissioning of these projects; and (e) the details of the steps being taken to expedite work considering their importance for border and regional connectivity? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (e): The work of New Railway line between Balurghat and Hilli (30 Km) was sanctioned in 2010-11. However, the project could not be taken forward and was kept on hold due to non acquisition of land by State Government of West Bengal. Subsequently, keeping in view the public demand it was decided to take the project forward in 2022. The latest cost of the project is ₹1,209 crore. An expenditure of ₹405 crore has been incurred upto to March, 2025 with an outlay of ₹187 crore for the year 2025-26. Land acquisition has been completed and work has been taken up. Contd….2/- §-:2:- The work of Kaliaganj-Buniadpur New Line was sanctioned in 2010-11. However, the project could not be taken forward and was kept on hold due to non-acquisition of land by State Government of West Bengal, Subsequently, keeping in view the public demand it was decided to take the project forward in 2024. The latest cost of the project is ₹1,147 crore with an expenditure of 38 crore upto March, 2025 and outlay of ₹128 crore for the year 2025-26. A total of 168 Ha. Land to be acquired for the project and Land acquisition work has been taken up. West Bengal: Budget allocation in the recent years has increased significantly. Budget allocation for infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal is as under:- Period Outlay 2009-14 ₹4,380 Cr./year 2025-26 ₹13,955 Cr. (More than 3 times) As on 01.04.2025, 42 projects (12 New Lines, 04 Gauge Conversions and 26 Doubling), of total length of 4402 Km, costing ₹67,991 crore falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal have been sanctioned. The summary is as under: Category No. of Total Length Total Exp. projects Length Commissioned upto March, (in Km) till March, 2025 2025 (in Km) (₹ in Cr.) New Lines 12 1,032 337 11,368 Gauge Conversion 4 1,201 854 3,673 Contd….3/--:3:- Doubling/Multi- 26 2,169 511 8,370 tracking Total 42 4,402 1,702 23,410 Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website. Details of some of the recently completed projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are as under: Cost S. No. Project (₹ in Cr.) 1 Rampurhat-Mandarhill new line and Rampurhat- 1,500 Murarai 3rd line (159 Km) 2 Azimganj-Murshidabad new line (7 Km) 164 3 Bardhaman-Katwa Gauge Conversion (52 Km) 696 4 Ahmedpur-Katwa Gauge Conversion (52 Km) 440 5 Panskura Kharagpur Doubling (45 Km) 408 6 Lalgola – Jiaganj Doubling (23 Km) 124 7 Krishnanagar-Bethuadahari Doubling (28 Km) 152 8 Nabadwipdham-Patuli Doubling (22 Km) 170 9 Bethuadhahari-Plassey Doubling (23 km) 132 10 Ambikakalna-Nabadwipdham Doubling (23 km) 145 11 Nalhati-Sagardighi Doubling (26 km) 193 12 Tamluk Jn.- Basulya Sutahata Doubling (24 km) 245 13 Plassey- Jiaganj Doubling (54 km) 234 14 Azimganj-Manigram Doubling (21 km) 150 Contd….4/--:4:- 15 New Coochbehar-Gumanihat Doubling (29 km) 330 16 New Coochbehar-Samuktala Road Doubling (29 445 km) 17 Sainthia-Tarapith 3rd line (22 Km) 186 18 Ambari Falakata-New Maynaguri Doubling (37 km) 843 19 Bandel-Boinchi - 3rd line (31 km) 546 20 Boinchi-Shaktigarh 3rd line (26 km) 424 21 Bazar Sau-Azimganj Jn. Doubling (42 km) 343 22 Sagardighi- Malda Town Doubling (25 Km) 248 23 Kharagpur-Narayangarh 3rd line (24 km) 270 24 Monigram-Nimtita Doubling (24 Km) 713 25 Purulia-Kotshila Doubling (36 Km) 393 Some of the projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal which have been taken up are as under: SN. Project Cost (₹ in Cr.) 1 Chandil-Purulia-Anara-Damodar 3rd Line(121 Km) 1,932 2 Tarakeshwar-Bishnupur New Line (83 Km) 1,542 3 Sivok-Rangpo New Line (44 Km) 11,973 4 Balurghat-Hilli New Line (30 Km) 1,209 5 Kaliyaganj-Buniadpur New Line (33 Km) 1,147 6 Katihar-Kumedpur and Katihar-Mukuria Doubling 943 (65 Km) 7 Kharagpur-Adityapur 3rd line (132 Km) 3,250 8 Narayangarh-Bhadrak 3rd line (153 Km) 2,136 Contd….5/--:5:- 9 Kalipahari-Bakhtarnagar 5th Line (18Km) 350 10 Dankuni-Baltikuri 3rd & 4th line (18 Km) 429 11 Murarai-Barharwa 3rd Line (49 Km) 935 12 Ranaghat-Krishnanagar City 3rd Line (26 Km) 446 13 Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd & 4th Line (57 1,630 Km) Execution of important infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are held up due to delay in land acquisition. Status of land acquisition in West Bengal is as under: Total Land required 4,662 Ha Land Acquired 1,273 Ha (27%) Balance Land to be acquired 3,389 Ha (73%) Details of some major projects which are delayed due to land acquisition are as under: SN Name of the project Total Land Balance Amount land acquired Land to Paid to required (in Ha) be State (in Ha) acquired (in Cr.) (in Ha) 1. Chandil-Anara- Burnpur - 8 0 8 0 3rd line 2. Nabadwipghat- 107 0 107 50 Nabadwipdham new line 3. Byepass at Sainthia 22 0 22 0 4. Naihati – Ranaghat 3rd 13 0 13 1.3 line Contd….6/--:6:- 5. Sivok-Rangpo new line 135 128 7 7.98 6. Kaliyaganj-Buniadpur 168 0 168 0 new line 7. Canning- Bagankhali new 18 0 18 0 line 8. Adra- Sanka- Rukni 5 0 5 0 doubling 9. Kalipahari-Bakhtarnagar 15 0 15 0 5th line 10. Rail Flyover at Anara 35 0 35 0 from Rukni to Anara station 11. Rail Flyover at 34 0 34 0 Gourinathdham end to Purulia 12. Chandanpur Shaktigarh 5 0 5 0 4th Line Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition  Forest clearance  Shifting of infringing utilities  Statutory clearances from various authorities  Geological and topographical conditions of area  Law and order situation in the area of project site  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc. Various steps taken by the Government for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects include: Contd….7/--:7:-  Substantial increase in allocation of funds.  Delegation of powers at field level.  Close monitoring of progress of project at various levels.  Regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects. *****