Jammu, Feb 19: The Government on Thursday told the Legislative Assembly that Northern Railway is carrying out final location surveys for four proposed railway lines in the Kashmir Valley and assured that landowners will be compensated as per law once the projects are approved.
Replying to a question by MLA Javid Hassan Baig on railway expansion, the Transport Department said the proposed lines are Baramulla–Uri, Sopore–Kupwara, Anantnag–Bijbehara–Pahalgam, and Kakapora–Shopian. It said the alignments have been finalised in consultation with concerned district administrations and land requirements assessed.
The Government clarified that, after sanction, compensation will be paid for land, trees and structures in line with applicable laws, addressing concerns over diversion of fertile agricultural land and rehabilitation of affected farmers. It stressed that all dues will be settled at the project execution stage.
On environmental safeguards, the reply noted that once sanctioned by the Centre, the projects will follow environmental policy and latest guidelines to mitigate deforestation, soil erosion, water disruption and ecological imbalance. Authorities said they will work closely with the Union Government and Indian Railways to minimise social and environmental impact.
District administrations will remain involved during execution to handle local issues and ensure compliance with prescribed norms for environmental and social protection, the Government added.
