HP proposes to build Kalka-Bilaspur rail line

With the Centre yet to take a concrete decision on acquiring land for the proposed Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri railway line,the Himachal Pradesh government on Friday proposed to construct the Kalka-Baddi-Bilaspur-Beri railway line with the help of cement companies with manufacturing units in the area. The government also made a fresh request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consider the Manali-Leh railway line,a proposal which was submitted by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal in 2008 in view of its strategic importance especially after China created world-class infrastructure in the Tibet region.

At a high level meeting convened by Dhumal to review the status of pending railway projects,it was decided to build the Kalka-Baddi-Nalagarh-Bilaspur railway line covering a major portion of the industrial belt. The government proposes to ask the cement firms,which have their manufacturing units in the area,to share the cost of the project.

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The state had earlier agreed to share 25 per cent of the project cost of the 63-km Bhanupalli-Bilaspur railway line. The project cost has escalated by about Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 3,000 crore now.