Suresh Kashyap raised issue of Paonta Kala Amb railway line which will benefit pharma industry
Former state president of BJP and MP Suresh Kashyap while addressing the Lok Sabha said that Paonta Sahib Kala Amb of my parliamentary constituency is an important industrial area. Late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had given industrial package to Himachal Pradesh in 2003 and at that time many industrial units were established in this area.
Kashyap said that this region ranks number one in Asia in terms of pharmaceuticals and medicines. But this region is still not connected to the railways. I have brought this matter to the attention of the Honorable Union Railway Minister earlier and have also given it in writing. I thank the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Honorable Railway Minister, who have completed the preliminary survey of this railway line in 2022 and its detailed report has been submitted to the Railway Board. My request to the Honorable Railway Minister would be that this region should be connected to the railway line as soon as possible, so that the industrial units established there, whether it is a matter of delivering raw material or for delivering the finished product to the market, and people can get its benefit.
Giving details in this regard, MP Suresh Kashyap informed that as on 01.04.2024, 04 new lines of total length 255 km costing ₹13,168 crore falling fully and partly in the State of Himachal Pradesh are in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which 61 km length has been commissioned and ₹6225 crore has been spent till March, 2024. Survey for new line between Jagadhri and Paonta Sahib (62 km) has been completed. Another survey has been done for Ghanauli to Dehradun (216 km) via Kala Amb and Paonta Sahib. Two (2) new line projects namely Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri (63.5 km) and Chandigarh-Baddi (30 km) passing fully and partly in Himachal Pradesh have been sanctioned on cost sharing basis with the State Government of Himachal Pradesh. In the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri (63.5 km) new line project, out of the total required land of 124.02 hectares in Himachal Pradesh, 79.57 hectares of land has been acquired. Work has started on the available land. So far, ₹5205 crore has been spent on this project and an amount of ₹1351 crore is outstanding on the Himachal Pradesh government. Work has started on the Chandigarh-Baddi (30 km) new rail line project.
