Shillong: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that Meghalaya may have to return the Rs. 200 crore that was sanctioned by the Railway ministry for the railway project.
The two projects include the 22-km Tetelia-Byrnihat line and the 108-km Byrnihat-Shillong line. The Tetelia-Byrnihat project, costing Rs 496 crore, has faced opposition, primarily due to fears of an influx of outsiders.
The Chief Minister said that he had met with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently, who expressed concerns over the stalled Byrnihat and Shillong railway projects.
“I have made it amply clear to him (Railway Minister) in that meeting that we need to take the stakeholders into confidence and without doing that it would not be proper for us to bulldoze on a subject like this. I have always stressed taking the community and the people on board while going for a major decision like this,” Sangma said.
The Chief Minister said that the Railway Minister had cautioned him that if the land acquisition issue for the railway project is not resolved within 3 or 6 months, the Rs 200 crore allocated for this purpose—currently held by the Deputy Commissioner since 2017—will be reclaimed.
However, Sangma said that he had requested the Railway Minister to give the Meghalaya government some time to discuss the issue with various stakeholders.
“As I said he (Railway Minister) has given a very strong message and indication to me that if we are not able to move forward this particular project which runs into thousands of crore and which has a huge economic impact on our state will have to be cancelled.”
