Yavatmal: The sitting Lok Sabha Member from Yavatmal-Washim constituency Bhavana Gawali has welcomed the budgetary allocation of Rs738 crore for the new railway line between Sewagram and Nanded via Yavatmal and said that the railway line will become a reality at the earliest."I have taken up the issue faced by the land owners and the acquisition officer due to the rigid land acquisition law with the Chief Minister and the Railway Minister and suggested amending the law to provide adequate room for the authorities to acquire the land from owners directly," Bhavana said, adding that the state has accepted her suggestions and a new amendment was included in the land acquisition law which would enable the authorities to buy the land at the market rate which is not only beneficial to the parties but also avoid long drawn legal battle for the compensation.As a matter of fact, the new railway line would be a 'lifeline' for the farmers' suicide prone region particularly Yavatmal district and it is the long pending demand of the people of the region.The foundation stone for the new railway line was laid with great fan fare at the hands of the then Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadhav in 2009. But there is no sign of the foundation stone anywhere in the existing Railway Station and nobody is now aware of it.Recently, the Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has granted a special status to the new railway line which was a boon for the speedy acquisition of the land required for the line. However, the Railway authorities were initially reluctant to accept the direct land purchase norm which is now rectified, informed the district collector Sachindra Pratap Singh.The estimated cost of the new line has escalated during the last more than a decade and is now pegged at Rs. 1650 crore which is to be shared by the Union and State Govts in the ratio 60: 40.Over 180 Kms of the railway line having the length of over 260 kms spreads in Yavatmal district alone and Vijay Bhakre has been designated as the chief acquisition officer assisted by the SDOs of Yavatmal, Darwha, Pusad and Umarkhed."The land acquisition is in full swing and the only hurdle is non availability of adequate fund," Bhakre said, adding that with the allocation of Rs. 738 crore in the union budget , fund would not be a restraint hereafter."I am keen to complete the new railway line as early as possible," Bhavana Gawali told TOI and hoped that the positive attitude expressed by the Union Finance Minister and the Railway Minister, the new railway line will become a reality in the next 2-3 years from now. (EOM)

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