With the aim of apprising the public of the environmental and social impact of the proposed Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar High-Speed Rail Corridor, a public consultation meeting was held at the meeting hall of the District Administrative Complex, SAS Nagar, Mohali, by the National High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited today. The meeting was chaired by the District Revenue Officer Amandeep Chawla, with details of the proposal shared by the NHSRCL representative, Anil Kumar.
Anil Kumar informed the farmers about the project, which would affect 43 villages in the district by acquiring 117.17 hectares of land. Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district has a total length of 55.613 KMs in the 474.772 KMs long project. The proposed stations near Chandigarh in this project may be at Dilapur, Bakarpur, Shafipur, and Rurka Villages.
He further mentioned that being an electric project, environmental pollution has been pegged at zero, as well as vibration impact. The entire project would be constructed on 10-15 meters high pillars with a width of 13 meters, besides a 4-meter road stretch below the project open for all as well as maintenance purposes. He cautioned the farmers regarding the potential sale of proposed land to realtors, emphasizing that the project is a proposal and not a guarantee to acquire their land, particularly before the approval of the union cabinet.
He added that, according to the preliminary survey, there are no religious places, educational institutions, hospitals, archaeological monuments, national parks/wildlife, forests, etc., that would be impacted by the project.
He explained that the project has been designed for a speed of 350 KMs per hour, while the train would run at a speed of 320 KMs per hour. The average speed, including halting at the proposed 10 stations, has been assessed as 250 KMs per hour.
The villages whose land has been proposed for acquisition include Khelan, Rajpur or Razapur, Mahlan, Jodhpur, Nagla, Sarangpur, Handesra, Seehapur, Barana or Badana, Jaula Kalan, Mianpur, Bagwasi, Mussepur or Musapur, Jawaharpur, Janetpur, Devi Nagar, Bir Bakarpur, Muhammadpura, Dhanauni, Paragpur, Baragpur, Sitabgarh, Chhat, Dialpura, Bakarpur, Rurka, Kambala, Chilla, Manoli, Raipur Khurd, Durali, Saneta, Raipur Kalan, Shampur, Bhartpur, Gaidarpur, Machhli Choti, Chahar Majra, Machhli Kalan, Makran, Todar Majra, Majat, and Chunni Khurd.
The District Revenue Officer, Amandeep Chawla, urged the attendees to submit their suggestions or objections in writing so that they can be submitted to the concerned agency for consideration. He further stated that after receiving approval to proceed based on this proposal, the acquisition of land would be initiated under RFCTLARR Act 2013.