Extension of Railway Network in the North East in a Mission Mode

The Railway network in the north-east has come of age since the North-East Frontier Railway (NFR) Railway zone with headquarters at Maligaon, Guwahati was carved out of erstwhile North-Eastern Railway in 1958. The Indian  Railways had served vital British Govt. interests in pre-Independence India, towards enabling the imperial authorities to move men and material across the sub-continent, primarily to retain strategic control of India. As a spin-off of the Railway network expansion, opening up of inaccessible and hinterland areas, also took place, spurring economic development. Post-Independence, the importance of the Railways had gained primacy from economic development angle, to satisfy infrastructural needs of the country. However, this growth in the north-east has been relatively slow though, from the second half of the 1990s, the Govt. of India has tried to give a special impetus to this development. The NFR,  has initiated a number of projects of extension of the existing network, installing double line tracks in place of single lines and, gauge conversion by upgrading meter gauge lines to broad gauge. However, the NFR has not taken up electrification of the existing network because of power supply constraints and economic reasons.

The NFR has an achievement of constructing 578 kms. – 161 kms of new lines,  387 kms of meter gauge lines converted to broad gauge and doubling 30 kms of single line tracks , over the past ten years. Though the progress could have been better, the achievement may be considered worthwhile reckoning the terrain, financial and region`s political constraints. The salient achievements are:  broad gauge conversion of the strategic lines from north West Bengal to Assam : the Fakiragram – Dhubri; New Jalpaiguri – New Bongaigaon; and Rangiya – Tezpur lines. Similar conversion was achieved of the Senchoa – Silghat line in upper Assam. Moreover, a meter gauge link was established to Agartala. At present, 34 projects are under execution : 21 new line; seven for gauge conversion and six for doubling tracks. The NFR has incurred an expenditure of Rs. 16334 crores till 31st March, 2013 and  requires Rs. 36765 crores more to complete them. The budget provision in 2013-14 was Rs. 3590 crs.

The existing Railway Master Plan component for infrastructure development of the north-east is significant involving many new lines, gauge conversion and double tracking of projects.  As part of this Master Plan, and during the 12th Plan period (2012-17), rail links are targeted to either reach the State capital or a near vicinity, in case of   Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Manipur. The important ones are: new broad gauge lines : Harmuti – Naharlagun (in Assam-Arunachal Pradesh); Dimapur - Kohima (Nagaland) and; Bhairabi – Sairang (Mizoram). Priority projects for conversion to  broad gauge are: Lumding – Kumarghat  ( in Assam and Tripura) providing for more movement capacity from east and central Assam to the southern part of the State and also to  Tripura; Karimganj – Silchar  for better connectivity in Barak Valley area of Assam; and Rangiya – Sibsagar easing movement between the eastern  and upper part of the State.

 There has been a reasonable degree of cooperation between the north-east State Govt.s and the Central Govt. towards helping the Railways to expand and consolidate. For this credit should go to the Union Home Ministry (MHA), which has been able to sensitise the State Govt.s concerned, on appreciating importance of this infrastructure. However, the  Railway projects cannot progress unless the triple issues: concerning  land availability for laying the  tracks, constructing the bridges and other  operating installations,   timely acquisition thereof at economic rates, etc. are resolved with the help of the State Govt.s.; a  consensus facilitated by the latter in concert with local political leaders and citizens on acceptability of the Railways as a viable alternate means of transportation without the institution being viewed as an enabler of non-tribal migration to the region and;  adequate funds for implementation of the projects made available.

Land acquisition for laying railway tracks along agreed alignments, have been dealt with to the satisfaction of the Railways and the State Govt.s in Mizoram and Tripura whereas, the matter has  not been an entirely smooth affair in States like Meghalaya and Nagaland.  Threats perceived to the interests of those operating and using road transport, consequent on expansion of the railway network; narrow political interests which triggered the  Khasi Students` Union`s agitation on inflow of non-tribals and so-called dilution of restrictions imposed by inner-line permits after November 2010 and again recently in 2013, in Meghalaya, and also earlier exorbitant demands of locals for monetary compensation, had  affected the Byrnihat – Shillong project in Meghalaya (traversing Ri-Bhoi and East Khasi Hills districts of the State).  Apprehensions of some road transport lobbies, as well as inflated local demands for compensation of community land to be acquired eg.  at Rs. 60/- per square feet in Nagaland pertaining to the Dimapur – Zubza – Kohima project  in Nagaland against Rs. 20/- per square feet  accepted in Mizoram, had delayed  the  project for some time. As a result, it is doubtfulwhether the rail links to the Meghalaya and Nagaland capitals will be completed during the 12th Plan period ( 2012-17). The economic benefits of the Dimapur – Kohima link, to not only Nagaland but also to some adjoining districts of Manipur would thus not be available for some time.  

While MHA, overseeing  security and strategic aspects of the north-east can facilitate matters, it is basically the role of Department of North Eastern Region of Govt. of India (DONER) and Planning Commission to promote the railway infrastructure in a mission-mode way through the instrumentality of the Indian Railways. Such an intervention on the part of DONER as well as Planning Commission is overdue.  The interest  and dynamism of the States` Chief Ministers will also be of essence in augmenting the Railway infrastructure in the region.   The  Harmuti-Naharlagun project which will provide direct rail connectivity between Guwahati and Itanagar, is nearly complete because of consistent support from the Govt. political leadership and bureaucracies of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

While extension of the Railway network as per felt needs of the north eastern States and their people, will remain the primary responsibility of the NFR and the Railway Board, successful maintenance of the Railway assets and efficiently operating them cannot be their sole concern. The State Govt.s and their agencies will have to get associated in this regard in an effective way. This implies, provision of  ancillaries like proper access roads to railway stations and secure goods storage-interchange points, as well as security cover to the railway personnel, the civil establishments and people who would be using the railway facilities. Though the Railway Protection Force (RPF) is there as a dedicated internal agency of the Railways for this purpose, the RPF`s role is limited to providing security to the Railway assets like the rakes, bogies, stations, sidings, yards, etc. only. The Railways cannot operate without the direct security cover of the Govt. Railway Police units (GRP), which are within the domain of the State Govt.  only, and intended for environmental security. The Union Govt. had conceived of a National Highways protection scheme, to be funded primarily from Central resources, in the late 1990s. S uch a scheme could be thought  of for providing  comprehensive security cover to the NFR assets in trouble prone areas, in concert with the GRP units. Such a rail asset protection scheme could be adequately financed from the Non-Lapsable Pool of Central Resources controlled by DONER and Planning Commission, the Railways Safety Fund (as a special dispensation) and  the State Govt. budgets, on a normative and shared basis say, with reference to kilometers of rail tracts in the respective States.

The Indian Railways are an asset to the nation. They have perforce to be viewed as an integral part of the development process in the north- east. The State Govt.s  have an onerous role to play, at times by circumscribing local short-term interests, with a foresight to give a boost to regional infrastructure. The benefits of `look-east` policy cannot be adequately realized unless the NFR network is strengthened.