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Ayodhya Dham station expansion: Admin asks railways to tread with caution before acquiring land
Carry out survey of affected villages again and spare houses, if possible, Ayodhya DM tells railway officials
The Ayodhya administration has directed railway officials to address all issues of land owners, carry out another survey of five affected villages and spare houses, if possible, before acquiring any land for expansion of the Ayodhya Dham railway station.
The Ayodhya Dham railway station is all set for expansion as the Union government has issued a notification to acquire land for the project. This will be the first mega project of the Modi 3.0 government for Ayodhya.
For acquisition of land, the state government wants to take all precautions, said a senior official of the state government not wishing to be named.
In the notification issued on June 6, the government had listed areas where land will be acquired. Around 6.540 hectare land is to be acquired by the railways in five villages -- Bagh Baigasi, Jalwanpur, Kazipur, Chitwa and Bagh Farharbaksh -- for expansion of the station.
The Ayodhya administration convened a meeting with railway officials and the affected villagers last month and another round will be held soon.
Ayodhya district magistrate Nitish Kumar has directed railway officials to again carry out a survey of all five affected villagers where land is to be acquired, according to officials in the know of things.
“Make all possible efforts to spare houses from acquisition and address all issues of villagers before acquiring their land,” the district magistrate said to railway officials.
In a recent interaction with affected residents of five villagers, the district magistrate noted all their concerns and assured them of proper compensation before acquiring their land.
The Ayodhya administration has also shared a rehabilitation plan with villagers whose houses will be acquired.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated the revamped Ayodhya Dham Railway station on December 30, 2023.
The first phase of the Ayodhya Dham Railway station was launched in 2018 and came up with a budget of ₹150 crore.
“With the announcement of this project, the Centre has made it clear that there will be no let up in development projects in Ayodhya,” said Ayodhya mayor Girishpati Tripathi.
Conceptualised by the state government to decongest the temple town, the New Ayodhya Township or the GreenField Township that will span 1407 acres on both sides of Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway is another major project for which land will have to be acquired in Ayodhya.
The state government’s housing and urban planning department is executing the project The township will have a lake replenished with water of the Saryu river, a two-km elevated stretch of road, residential plots, group housing, commercial plots, ashram/ mutts and international guest houses among others.
