Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi launched 62nd state Van Mahotsav today from the famous pilgrim place Pavagadh by planting a sapling here on the site named Virasat Van (Heritage Forest).
Virasat Van will be developed with the people's participation in the area of 6.5 hectare in the foothills of Pavagadh. Since 2004, Chief Minister Mr. Modi has initiated to develop a series of ‘cultural forests' in the state. Virast Van is the eighth one in this series where trees of 30 different types will be grown beautifying the entire area of Pavagadh hills.
On the occasion, Chief Minister asked people to actively participate in ‘Vave Gujarat' campaign and exhorted people to plant two trees on the birth of a girl child in their families. He said the same trees will yield them enough money for the marriage of their daughter. He also expressed desire to make Gujarat greener by infusing love for the trees in the people across the state.
Chief Minister said the materialistic western culture has destabilized the nature but the Indian tradition believes in the principle of ‘Chhod ma Ranchhod' (Tree has god in it). Living in harmony with nature is the only way out from global warming, he said.
“Van Mahotsav is meant to love and worship the nature. The state government does not want it to remain merely a government programme but wants to involve people in it. And so, it has developed different type of forests with the theme of various elements of our culture so that people can relate to it”, he said.
Speaking on the occasion Forest Minister Mr. Mangubhai Patel said that there are 1300 different medicinal trees being seen in Gujarat. There is a need to take more care of these trees. In a novel concept, the state government has grown various forests like Smriti Van, Rashi Van, Nakshatra Van and others while the forest department is also working for the greening of the urban areas.
Social Justice Minister Mr. Fakirbhai Vaghela said that every religion has considered the tree sacred. He expressed faith that the people of the state will enthusiastically involve themselves in this forestry campaign.
Principal Secretary Mr.S.K.Nanda informed that at present there are 16 trees per hectare in the state and 4.6% of the area outside of forests is green. State government wishes it to increase to 20 and 6% respectively.
Van Pandit' award was given by the Chief Minister and other dignitaries to all those farmers who contributed greatly for the nurturing of age-old trees.
Minister of State for Forest Mr. Kiritsinh Rana, Minister of State for Tribal Welfare Mr. Jaswantsinh Bhabhor, MLAs Mr.Jethabhai Bharwad, Arvindsinh Chauhan, Chief Forest Conservator Dr.Jagdishprasad, District Collector Mr.Manish Chandra, Government office bearers and people in large number were present on the occasion.
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.
