Archive · 18 Jul 2026
99 Bengal rail projects delayed due to land issues
A long time ago, the government in West Bengal, India, didn't do a good job of getting land and approving plans for building bridges and underpasses over and under train tracks.
Because of this, 99 of these projects got delayed.
This was a problem because it made train travel less safe.
Now, the new government is trying to fix this by getting the land needed for these projects.
They have even given a lot of land to another group to build a fence along the border.
The new government is also setting up a special team to make sure these projects get done quickly.
99 road overbridges (RoBs) and railway underpasses in Bengal were delayed due to the previous government's failure to acquire land and approve final plans.
The delay was highlighted after a train accident at a level crossing killed five people, including four school students.
The Railway Ministry reported that 49 projects were delayed due to unapproved alignments, 14 due to late approval of final drawings, 27 due to lack of NoC, 10 due to land acquisition issues, and 7 due to law and order problems.
The new BJP government has assured to complete the projects by arranging land and has set up a special team to monitor the process.
The new government has already handed over 1,000 acres of land to the BSF for border fencing and plans to do the same for pending infrastructure projects.
- Who
- Mamata Banerjee government, BJP government, Railway Ministry, Public Works Department
- What
- Delay in completion of 99 road overbridges and railway underpasses in Bengal
- When
- Over the past few years, with recent developments under the new BJP government
- Where
- West Bengal, India
- Why
- Due to the previous government's failure to acquire land and approve final plans for approach roads
- Number of delayed projects
- 99
- Total approved projects since 2016
- 200
- Projects delayed due to alignment issues
- 49
- Projects delayed due to drawing approval
- 14
- Projects delayed due to NoC
- 27
- Projects delayed due to land acquisition
- 10
- Projects delayed due to law and order
- 7
- Land handed over to BSF
- 1,000 acres