Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati cancelled the land allotted for the Rs 2,200-crore rail coach factory, in Rai Bareli, the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Sonia Gandhi, along with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, were scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the proposed rail coach factory project at Lalganj in Rai Bareli on October 14. Now, the fate of the function hangs in the balance as there is no land with the railways to lay the foundation stone.
Vijay Shanker Pandey, principal secretary to the chief minister, said on Sunday that the government has decided to revoke the government order of May 19, 2008 for the transfer of over 400 acres of land to the railway ministry.
He said the decision was taken on the report of the district magistrate (DM) of Rai Bareli. He said that the DM in his report had painted a grim scenario, apprehending suicide and self-immolation by the farmers against the acquisition of land for the proposed coach factory. Pandey said that the DM had sent his report on October 10.
Based on DM’s report, the state revenue department had cancelled the order of May 2008. Pandey, however said, considering the importance of the project for the backward area like Rai Bareli, the DM of the district has been asked to search for an alternative site for the railway coach factory at the earliest.
The DM in his report also stated that the railways would require another 700 acres more land for the factory and the farmers were not ready to compromise on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Congress crying foul, has termed the action as political vendetta by Mayawati, which was against development and against the aspiration of the common people particularly the youth.
State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi, condemning the decision, said the reason for the cancellation offered by the UP government, were lame excuses as the farmers of the Dalmau and Lalganj tehsil of Rai bareli had never made any complaint against the coach factory project. On the contrary, the local people were happy as the project was set to change the profile of the area and the destiny of the local people, she argued.
She also said that the fate of foundation stone laying programme by Sonia Gandhi was still not known, as it will be decided by the railway ministry; However, she said that the state Congress unit, after consultation with the high command, would decide on launching agitation against the BSP government’s act.
Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that the coach factory would have created 10,000 jobs besides, giving indirect employment to thousand others. She said the government action was in retaliation to the agitation by the Congress on the forcible acquisition of the fertile agriculture land of the farmers in several parts of the state, for the construction of parks and other memorials for Kanshiram and Mayawati.
“The BSP government had put spanner on several projects, with not giving the NOC to set up Hindustan Paper Mill and a pharmaceutical research centre, and land for setting up a CRPF recruitment centre at Rai bareli,” she claimed.
When asked about the schedule programme of Sonia Gandhi at Lalganj on October 14, the state congress president said that a public rally was expected there, but the laying of the foundation stone for the coach factory would be decided by the railway ministry.
On May 5, 2008, the railway ministry had floated a global tender inviting Request for Qualification (RFQ) in the joint venture for this new coach factory. Sonia Gandhi, along with Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, had earlier announced the rail coach factory at Lalganj in her constituency on February 13, 2007.
The proposed coach factory was to have an installed capacity to manufacture 1,000 coaches anually, with latest manufacturing systems at optimum costs, state-of-the-art coaches with pleasing interiors, longer life span and higher comfort level.
The proposed RCF at Rai bareli, if built, would be the third rail coach factory of Indian Railways and the first one in Uttar Pradesh. The project would cost around Rs 2,200 crore with Public-Private Participation (PPP). The area of this project is expected to be 476 hectares and about 3,000 local people were to get direct or indirect employment. The rail coach manufacturing unit will consist of a workshop spread over 138 hectares, a colony spread over 339 hectares, along with other facilities for staff welfare.
