J&K rail project shelved; found not feasible

New Delhi, Mar 9 (UNI) The proposal to construct a new railway line between Jammu and Poonch via Rajouri was shelved as it was not found feasible, the government said today.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Railways R Velu said a survey for construction of the proposed railway line was carried out in March 1999, incurring an expenditure of Rs 15 lakh.

Quoting the survey report, Mr Velu said the cost of construction of the 223-km-long line was assessed at Rs 4574 crore with a negative rate of return.

''Due to constraint of resources and heavy throwforward of the ongoing projects, it was not considered feasible to take up the work,'' the minister added.

Replying to another query, Mr Velu denied that the Railway Ministry was considering a proposal to form a new railway zone, to be called South Western Zone, comprising areas from Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram and Palghat), Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

UNI