New Delhi, Sep 2 (IANS) The Cabinet on Monday approved a 309-km-long new railway line project worth Rs 18,036 crore to connect the commercial centres of Mumbai and Indore through the shortest rail route.
The project, to be completed by 2028-29, will also bridge the distance between two districts of Maharashtra and four districts of Madhya Pradesh.
According to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), a large number of direct jobs will also be generated during the project construction.
30 new stations will be constructed with this project, providing connectivity to the ‘aspirational district’ of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh.
The new line between Indore and Manmad will provide connectivity to around 1,000 villages and about 30 lakh population.
The railway line project will provide direct connectivity to the Pithampur auto cluster (90 large units and 700 small and medium industries) from JNPA’s Gateway Port and other state ports.
The government said this will provide direct connectivity to the millet producing districts of Madhya Pradesh and onion producing districts of Maharashtra, facilitating its distribution in northern and southern parts of the country.
The sanctioned project is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of New India which will make the people of the region “Atmanirbhar” (self-reliant) through comprehensive development in the region thereby enhancing their employment and self-employment opportunities.
It will also boost tourism in the region by providing a shorter route between the Western/South-Western part of the country with Central India.
The government said that this new line will increase the number of tourists to various religious places in the Ujjain-Indore region, including the Shri Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple.
It is an essential route for transportation of commodities like agricultural products, fertilizers, containers, iron ore, steel and cement etc. Additional freight traffic of about 26 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) will be carried through this route.
–IANS
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