Indore-Dhule-Malegaon-Manmad Railway Line: Finally, foundation stone laid

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Indore-Dhule-Malegaon-Manmad Railway Line: Finally, foundation stone laid

Total Project Cost is Rs. 8574.79 crores. The project will be completed within six years

Saturday February 16, 2019 5:56 PM, ummid.com Staff Reporter

Dhule (Maharashtra): More than 100 years after the first survey of the route was done, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday finally laid the foundation stone of the 362-km Indore-Nardana-Dhule-Malegaon-Manmad Railway Line project.

Besides PM Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of State Dr Subhash Bhamre. Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao and others attended the special ceremony organised in Dhule barely two days after more than 40 CRPF troopers were killed in Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Union Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre had shared with the media the details of the foundation stone laying ceremony scheduled for today. However, uncertainty over the ceremony loomed large in the wake of Thursday's Pulwama terrorist attack.

On several occasions in the past, it was hoped that the work will begin for the proposed railway line for which the first survey was done long before the independence in 1908. However, people in North Maharashra and Madhya Pradesh, especially those living along the 362 stretch, waited for more than 100 years for this day.

The foundation stone ceremony for the 362 km Dhule Nardana railway line is followed by an MoU signed between JNPT- Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Railways, Govt of Maharashtra and Govt of Madhya Pradesh on August 28, 2018. It is claimed that the project will reduce the distance from Mumbai/Pune to key central India locations by 171 kilometers.

"The new project will reduce the distance from Mumbai/Pune to key central India locations by 171 kilometers, resulting in lower logistics costs. This is especially significant as the new railway line will pass through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor nodes of Igatpuri, Nashik, Sinnar and Malegaon; Pune and Khed; and Dhule and Nardana", Ministry of Shipping said.

"Containers and other rail traffic from Indore and other Central Indian locations earlier had to follow a circuitous route through Vadodara and Surat to reach Mumbai, Pune and ports like JNPT, travelling a distance of 815 km", the ministry said.

"The implementation of the project will be through the Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited (IPRCL) on Joint Venture SPV model", the ministry said.

"A Joint Venture Company will be formed between Ministry of Shipping or its nominated PSUs/Entity including JNPT (which will be the main promoter) with equity share of 55 per cent, Government of Maharashtra or its nominated PSUs/Entity, Government of Madhya Pradesh or its nominated PSUs/Entity, and others with equity share of 15 per cent each", it added.

"Total Project Cost is Rs. 8574.79 crores. The project will be completed within six years", the Ministry of Shipping said.

The Manmad-Indore railway line via Malegaon-Dhule was approved by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the 2016 Railway Budget. The union government had allocated the 50% cost of the project i.e. 4,900 crore rupees. The remaining 50% cost was supposed to be shared by the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments.

This was the second time Railway Ministry had given nod to Manmad-Indore railway line via Malegaon-Dhule. In 2012, then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi had included this project in the 2012 Railway Budget.

When Lalu Prasad Yadav was Railway Minister, he had ordered feasibility survey of this project. When Suresh Prabhu presented his first railway budget in 2015, he ordered a fresh survey allocating a fund of Rs.1.32 cr for the purpose.

After the project got sanctioned by Suresh Prabhu, the Railway Ministry in April 2016 announced a collaboration between the Centre and the Maharashtra government for speedy completion of the Manmad-Indore railway line via Malegaon-Dhule.

The project however got delayed because ot the MP government's refusal to share the cost. It picked up pace again after Ministry of Transport came in scene. The project moved forward after Nitin Gadkari's intervention following which the MoU signed between JNPT- Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Railways, Govt of Maharashtra and Govt of Madhya Pradesh in August 2018.

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