9 years on, Rohtak to Hansi railway line project hangs fire

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, November 28

The work on the Rohtak-Meham-Hansi railway line project, the foundation stone of which was laid in July 2013, is yet to be completed.

The project cost has escalated from Rs 287 crore to Rs 893.45 crore due to the inordinate delay in its completion. Flagging concern regarding the matter at a recent meeting of MPs of the area covered under the Delhi division of Northern Railway, Congress Rajya Sabha member from Haryana Deepender Singh Hooda demanded that the work on the project be expedited.

Cost escalates

• The project cost has escalated from Rs 287 crore to Rs 893.45 crore due to the delay in its completion
• The foundation stone of the project was laid in July 2013

“For nearly four years, the state regime kept on making an excuse that the project file had gone missing. Then, I personally sent a file of the project to the Chief Minister. We also staged dharnas at Hansi and Meham. Eventually, in 2017, the BJP government organised a bhoomi-pujan ceremony to seek credit for the project. However, it is yet to be completed,” said the Congress MP.

Hooda also highlighted the plight of Kosli residents who have been facing massive jams at the local railway station.

“I had raised the demand for the construction of a railway underpass and it was approved, but the work is yet to start,” he said, reiterating his demand.

He demanded that the height and width of the railway underpass at Kishangarh village near Meham town in Rohtak district be increased as the present structure was inadequate for the passing of tractors and agricultural equipment. He also sought permission for the construction of an underpass to facilitate the commuting of residents of Mokhra and nearby villages.

The Congress leader demanded an extensive survey to expand the existing railway underpasses, rectify the problem of waterlogging in underpasses and the construction of new ones wherever required.