Special Correspondent
Panaji
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said Goa’s coal transportation capacity will not be increased even as the Ministry of Railways formally announced the commissioning of 312 kilometres of the 363-km Hospet-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line doubling project.
The central ministry has also announced its plan to acquire an additional 6,000 sq mt – 0.6007 hectares – of land at Mormugao for the project and sought public feedback within the next 30 days.
Interacting with media, the Chief Minister said the Hospet-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line doubling project will be helpful for tourism and trade. He said hype is, however, being made about the coal transportation.
According to the gazette notification, the land identified for acquisition falls in the villages of Cansaulim, Issorcim and Sancoale in Mormugao taluka.
The residents and stakeholders have been given 30 days from the date of publication of the notification to file objections with the competent authority, the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Officer, Mormugao. Related hearings will be held before a final decision is taken.
“The land plans and details are available for inspection at the office of the Land Acquisition Officer, Mormugao,” states the notification.
The Hospet-Londa-Tinaighat-Vasco railway line doubling project is an ongoing infrastructure development initiative aimed at increasing the line capacity of the single-track railway line.
The railway line connects to the Mormugao port in Goa.
The 363-km project, sanctioned in 2010-11 at a cost of over Rs 2,100 crore was planned to ease congestion for freight, especially iron ore and passenger trains, but faced delays due to challenges like forest clearances for the segment passing through Goa’s wildlife sanctuaries.
Much of the work of the project including that in Karnataka state is complete, while the final section in the Goa region is still pending and expected to be completed around December 2026.
The project is being executed by Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL).
