"Denial of permission to construct gates due to Central Government's malice"
"Gujarat ready with spadework to raise the SSP dam’s height from 121m to 138m in 30 months"
"“All the partner states – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat – have completed rehabilitation of project affected persons” “Congress-ruled Centre deliberately delaying granting permission to complete SSP dam, lest Narendra Modi take away the credit” "
Gandhinagar, Monday: Government of Gujarat (GoG) today blamed the Congress-ruled Central Government for deliberately delaying granting permission to complete the gates at Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) to raise the dam height from 121.92 metres to 138.68 metres on the Narmada.
According to state government spokespersons, Finance Minister Nitin Patel and Energy Minister Saurabh Patel, the Government of Gujarat (GoG) has completed Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) of Project Affected Persons (PAPs) in 2006, as so also the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) in consultation with R&R Sub-Group and the Government of Maharashtra (GoMH).
The ministers said that the partner states have submitted the completion report to R&R Sub-Group at the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) meeting in New Delhi on September 12, 2012. However, the meeting presided over by Union secretary for Justice and Empowerment postponed granting permission, asking some insignificant details from the Congress-led GoMH. The latter has complied with the details on January 8, 2013. These details had nothing to do with GoMP which had in fact submitted its report in January 2010.
And, yet, the ministers said that Gujarat’s Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil is blaming GoG and GoMP with a view to misleading the people of the state. It is unbelievable that Congress leaders of Gujarat weren’t aware of the real reasons behind the delay.
Out of 412 PAPs to be rehabilitated by GoMH, the Ministers pointed out that GoG provided private arable land to 90 PAPs in Nizhar taluka inside Gujarat while GoMH provided land to remaining 322 PAPs.
The next meeting of the R&R Group and NCA, which was scheduled to be held on January 23, 2013 was abruptly postponed at the eleventh hour citing the R&R Group’s Chairman’s indisposition.
The delay reflects the Central Government’s apprehension that allowing the dam’s height to go up to 138.68 metres would help Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi take the credit of completing the dam.
The ministers said that the GoG had completed all the spadework to place the gates (spillway piers) in June 2005, but for the permission. It would take about 30 months to complete the remaining job.
The ministers recalled that whenever Mr. Modi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he had requested the latter to end the stalemate. He repeated the request last time on February 6, 2013 during his courtesy call on being elected for another term. Dr Singh even expressed surprise at the delay. A delegation of Members of Parliament had also personally met the Prime Minister and submitted a memorandum but to no avail.
Sadly, they said, the completion of the dam to the stipulated height would benefit not only Gujarat but also Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The completion would hold 34-lakh acre feet of water (three times the present capacity) and generate 40 per cent additional electricity, helping Maharashtra partly meet the power shortage.
The ministers regretted that a multipurpose river valley project of immense national importance to benefit four states is pending for the last 50 years due to the Congress party’s negative attitude.
Cabinet approves two railway projects in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh worth Rs 24,815 crore
April 18, 2026
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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today has approved 02 (Two) projects of Ministry of Railways with total cost of Rs. 24,815 crore (approx.). These projects include:
Name of Project
Route Length (in km)
Track Length (in km)
Completion Cost (Rs.inCr.)
Ghaziabad – Sitapur 3rd and 4th Line
403
859
14,926
Rajahmundry (Nidadavolu) – Visakhapatnam (Duvvada) 3rd and 4th Line
198
458
9,889
Total
601
1,317
24,815
The increased line capacity will significantly enhance mobility, resulting in improved operational efficiency and service reliability for Indian Railways. These multi-tracking proposals are poised to streamline operations and alleviate congestion. The projects are in line with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji’s Vision of a New India which will make people of the region “Atmanirbhar” by way of comprehensive development in the area which will enhance their employment/ self-employment opportunities.
The projects are planned on PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan with focus on enhancing multi-modal connectivity & logistic efficiency through integrated planning and stakeholder consultations. These projects will provide seamless connectivity for movement of people, goods, and services.
The 02 (Two) projects covering 15 Districts across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh will increase the existing network of Indian Railways by about 601 Kms.
The proposed capacity enhancement will improve rail connectivity to several prominent tourist destinations across the country, including Dudheshwarnath Temple, Garhmukteshwar Ganga Ghat, Dargah Shah Wilayat Jama Masjid (Amroha), Naimisharanya (Sitapur), Annavaram, Antarvedi, Draksharamam, etc.
The proposed projects are essential routes for transportation of commodities such as coal, foodgrains, cement, POL, iron and steel, container, fertilizers, sugar, chemical salts, limestone, etc. The Railways being environment friendly and energy efficient mode of transportation, will help both in achieving climate goals and minimizing logistics cost of the country lowering CO2 emissions (180.31Crore Kg) which is equivalent to plantation of 7.33 Crore trees.
Ghaziabad – Sitapur 3rd and 4th Line (403 Km)
Ghaziabad – Sitapur is an existing double line section forming a key part of Delhi- Guwahati High Density Network (HDN 4).
The project is crucial for improving connectivity between the Northern and Eastern region of the country.
The existing line capacity utilization of the section is up to 168% and is projected to be up to 207% in case the project is not taken up.
Transverses through Ghaziabad, Hapur, Amroha, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Sahjahanpur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur districts of Uttar Pradesh.
The project route passes through major industrial centres - Ghaziabad (machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals), Moradabad (brassware and handicrafts), Bareilly (furniture, textiles, engineering), Shahjahanpur (carpets and cement-related industries), and Roza (thermal power plant).
For seamless transportation, the project alignment is planned to bypass congested stations of Hapur, Simbhaoli, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, and Sitapur and accordingly, six new stations are proposed on the bypassing sections.
Key tourist/religious places along/near to the project section are Dudheshwarnath Temple, Garhmukteshwar Ganga Ghat, Dargah Shah Wilayat Jama Masjid (Amroha), and Naimisharanya (Sitapur) among others.
Anticipated additional freight traffic of 35.72 MTPA consisting of Coal, Foodgrains, Chemical Manures, Finished Steel, etc.
Estimated Cost: Rs.14,926 crore (approx.)
Employment generation: 274 lakh human-days.
CO2 emissions saved: About 128.77 crore Kg CO2 equivalent to 5.15 Cr trees.
Logistic cost saving: Rs. 2,877.46 crore every year vis-a vis road transportation.
Ghaziabad – Sitapur 3rd and 4th Line (403 Km)
Rajahmundry (Nidadavolu) – Visakhapatnam (Duvvada) 3rd and 4th Line (198 Km)
Rajahmundry (Nidadavolu) – Visakhapatnam (Duvvada) section forms part of the Howrah – Chennai High Density Network (HDN).
The proposed project is part of quadrupling initiative of Howrah – Chennai High Density Network (HDN) route.
The project traverses through East Godavari, Konaseema, Kakinada, Anakapalle and Vishakapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh.
Visakhapatnam is identified as an Aspirational District in the Aspirational Districts Programme.
It provides connectivity to major ports along the East Coast such as Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Machilipatnam and Kakinada.
The project route runs along the eastern coastline and is among the busiest, predominantly freight-oriented sections of the East Coast Rail Corridor.
The line capacity utilization of the section has already reached up to 130%, leading to frequent congestion and operational delays. The line capacity is expected to increase further due to proposed expansion of ports and industries in the region.
Project section includes 4.3 km rail bridge over Godavari River, 2.67 km viaduct, 3 bypasses and the new alignment is around 8 km shorter than the existing route, improving connectivity and operational efficiency.
The proposed section will also boost tourism by improving access to key destinations such as Annavaram, Antarvedi and Draksharamam etc.
Anticipated additional freight traffic of 29.04 MTPA consisting of Coal, Cement, Chemical Manures, Iron and Steel, Foodgrains, Containers, Bauxite, Gypsum, Limestone, etc.
Estimated Cost: Rs.9,889 crore (approx.)
Employment generation: 135 lakh human-days.
CO2 emissions saved: About 51.49 crore Kg CO2 equivalent to 2.06 Cr trees.
Logistic cost saving: Rs. 1,150.56 crore every year vis-a vis road transportation.
आर्थिक सशक्तिकरण:
Aspirational districts - Visakhapatnam district will get improved connectivity
Additional economic opportunities in the region through tourism & industries.
Better healthcare and education for the citizens due to enhanced rail connectivity.
Rajahmundry (Nidadavolu) – Visakhapatnam (Duvvada) 3rd and 4th Line (198 Km)
Prime Minister’s focus on railways:
Record budget allocation of Rs. 2,65,000 crore for FY 26-27.
Manufacturing more than 1600 locomotives- surpassed US and Europe in manufacturing of locomotive production
In FY 26, Indian Railways is expected to rank among the top three freight carriers globally, moving 1.6 billion tonnes of cargo.
India starts exporting metro coaches to Australia and bogie to United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, France and Australia.
