Tupul-Imphal rail line in limbo with no takers even after third tender
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 29 2009: With no firm or organisation coming forward to bid for the tender floated to undertake the survey work of laying the rail line from Tupul to Imphal on the Jiri-Imphal rail line by the North East Railway Frontier, the task of laying the rail line may be delayed intermittently.

Speaking to The Sangai Express a well placed source said that though the NEFR has invited tenders three times for conducting the survey for laying the rail track for the Tupul to Imphal stretch no one or no firm has come forward to bid for the same.

Jiribam-Imphal New Line Rail Project

The tender was floated for the third time recently and even this time too there has been no takers, said the source.

With no one willing to take up the survey work, the NEFR has already intimated the issue to the State Government, said the source and added that active discussion is underway to see if the Rail India Technical and Economic Survey (RITES), which surveyed the stretch from Jiribam to Tupul can be approached directly to take up the survey work of the Tupul to Imphal rail stretch.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier laid the foundation stone for the rail head at Jiribam in 2004 and it was initially planned that the rail line would stretch from Jiribam to Tupul.

Imphal was added to the rail map only later.

Though the survey work for laying the rail track from Jiribam to Tupul has been finalised the process of land acquisition for the same is yet to be finalised too, giving rise to apprehension that it may not be possible to meet the deadline for completing the work.

The required money for acquiring the land for laying the rail track from 0 to 4 km of the railline has already been paid but the process of land acquisition is yet to be finalised, elaborated the source.

According to the plan to stretch the rail line upto Imphal, the Government had zeroed in on Malom for the Imphal rail head.

Accordingly, 23 acres of land had been identified for acquisition for setting up a rail fed oil depot for the Indian Oil Corporation.

Recently Chief Minister O Ibobi had instructed the Indian Oil Corporation to shell out the needed Rs 2.5 crores for acquiring the 23 acres of land where the rail fed oil depot can come up.

The Imphal West Deputy Commissioner is to earmark the land and accordingly hand it over to the IOC authority.

However with no one coming forward to conduct the survey on the Tupul to Imphal stretch of the rail line, the process of acquiring the land may also face some delay as the question of the final identification of the rail head is to be given only after the survey work is completed, said the source further.