Transport Minister S.S. Sivasankar on Saturday denied Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s claim that the Madurai-Thoothukudi BG Line through Aruppukottai was dropped based on a written request from the State government.
“It is a baseless claim. The State government never sent anything in writing against the project. Instead, it has always insisted on its implementation,” Mr. Sivasankar said in a statement.
Mr. Vaishnaw, who was in Chennai on Friday, told mediapersons that the project had been dropped because the Tamil Nadu government had written to the Union government expressing its wish to scrap it.
Mr. Sivasankar said Collectors of Madurai, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi had been directed to acquire several hectares of land for the project. “The land acquisition process has been divided into two, and is progressing well. The government has already granted administrative sanction, and orders were issued on April 25, 2023, and September 22, 2023,” he said. The Minister recalled Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s letter to the Railways Minister on October 18, 2024, seeking funds for the Madurai-Thoothukudi and other projects.
“This being the situation, how can the Union Minister say that the State government demanded the scrapping of the project?” he asked.
Mr. Sivasankar said the State government wrote a letter to Southern Railway on December 12, 2024, seeking details on the status of the project and budget allocation.
“In its reply, Southern Railway said that though the 18-km line between Meelavittan and Melamarudur had been completed, it had proposed freezing it due to low freight prospects,” the Minister said.
He said: “The [Union] Minister should allocate adequate funds for the project, as demanded by the Chief Minister…”
Published – January 12, 2025 12:38 am IST