Patiala- Northern Railway has written to the Punjab Government requesting it to nominate a Competent Authority for Land Acquisition and an Arbitrator for the Rajpura-Mohali New Line (18.11 km) project.
As per a Gazette Notification (Amendment) Act-2008, the Central Government has notified the project as a “Special Railway Project”. Under this, approximately 53.84 hectares of land is to be acquired in Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (SAS Nagar) districts for national infrastructure purposes. The notification was published in the Official Gazette on October 24.
In a letter to the Punjab government, a copy of which is with the Tribune Group, the Northern Railway said: “The successful and timely completion of this important railway infrastructure project is essential for regional connectivity and economic development.” The letter said, “It may be noted that the Railways does not have sufficient number of suitable officers with experience in land acquisition to act as the Competent Authority. Therefore, it is requested to appoint a Competent Authority for Land Acquisition and an Arbitrator for the acquisition of land under the provisions of the Railways (Amendment) Act, 2008.” The communication further said that the land required for the project is spread over Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, and SAS Nagar districts.