Land, forest clearances given for Wadsa-Gadchiroli railway line in LWE affected area: Vaishnaw

New Delhi: Work on the Wadsa-Gadchiroli Railway line, which passes through Left Wing Extremism affected areas, has picked up speed after getting land and forest clearances, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Replying to a supplementary, he said the project is important as it passes through Left Wing Extremism affected areas.

“Wadsa-Gadchiroli is an important project. It also provides a mitigation to Left Wing Extremism affected areas. It is an important project for the poor people of the area,” the minister said.

However, the then Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra had not provided the necessary clearances to it.

“Unfortunately, land acquisition support was not provided under the Uddhav Thackeray government, but when the Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde government came to power, it has done good work on land acquisition,” he said.

“All the land that was required -- around 220 hectares -- has been acquired. Work is progressing,” he said.

The Wadsa Gadchiroli project was declared as a special railway project in December 2015. The 52.36 km line will facilitate easy transport of passengers as well as movement of agri and forest produce.