SHILLONG, MAR 4: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday informed that the Centre has asked the state government to surrender Rs 200 crore sanctioned for the purpose of land acquisition for implementation of the railway projects in Meghalaya.
“No land has been acquired as there is very strong resistance against the railway project. We have received a letter from the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on December 17, 2024 asking us to return the fund since it was not utilized for the past 7-8 years,” Sangma said in the Assembly.
“Since it is a sensitive matter, the government did not go ahead with the land acquisition. (Due to the delay) the government of India has now asked us to refund the money,” he said.
Sangma however informed that the government has been talking in multiple forums and in principle there is strong opposition against the proposed laying of railway tracks.
“Therefore, it is not possible for us to move forward.”
The chief minister also assured that the government will carry along all stakeholders before deciding to implement such important projects.
“”I have also met the minister concerned on multiple occasions and in the last meeting, I had hinted to the minister that we are not able to move ahead with the project due to strong resistance against laying of railway tracks,” he said.
The chief minister said, “As a state government, we strongly felt there is a need for railways from an economic perspective of transportation of goods as it is something which would ease the overall transportation of products from inside and outside the state…”