New Delhi: The works on redevelopment of Gandhinagar railway station project are completed and the new, redeveloped railway station with a hotel atop it will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister next month (April 2021), said union Railway minister Piyush Goyal while speaking in Lok Sabha today.

‘Works for redevelopment of Gandhinagar railway station are over and Prime Minister will inaugurate it in the next month. There will be an international level hotel atop the railway station to serve Mahatma Mandir (nearby) where global level exhibitions and events take place,’ Railway minister said.

Goyal in his same speech admired Gujarat government’s cooperation for recently completed Vadodara – Kevadia railway line project. He said, ‘the project was completed from start to finish in over two years period from project approval to design, survey, acquisition of land, implementation and station construction. That’s due to state government’s support. They made us available the land and extended help on immediate basis whenever it was required from them.’

Goyal was speaking this in reference to non cooperation of State governments in many other states. He gave examples of Kerala, Maharashtra, West Bengal and other states where cooperation of state government was lacking.

Giving example of one 45 years old project in West Bengal, he said a 75-km project, 45 years after being sanctioned, is still held up for want of land. Out of 110 km line, only 42 km could be worked out. The Central government had even given money for land acquisition to the State, but neither they completed the task, nor they returned the money to Centre.

Goyal said, 95 per cent land acquisition for Ahmedabad – Mumbai bullet train project in Gujarat and Daman is completed against only 24 km acquired on Maharashtra side. Even the land for starting point has not been given to Centre. For now, only Gujarat section work has been started in this project. It’s not because it is Gujarat, but it’s because of no availability of land in Maharashtra, even for terminal, the starting point at Bandra Kurla complex. DeshGujarat