Himachal sets up panel after houses develop cracks due to railway tunnel work: Vaishnaw
New Delhi: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday informed the Rajya Sabha that the 63-km Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri new rail line project in Himachal Pradesh has been sanctioned on a cost-sharing basis with the state government and 80.31 hectares of land out of the total required 123.16 hectares of land has been acquired.In a written reply, Vaishnaw told the Upper House that the Himachal government constituted another committee in June 2025 on the request of locals after the first committee dealt with their complaints related to houses developing cracks due to tunnelling work for the Bhanupalli-Bilaspur-Beri new line project."The works on available land have been taken up. So far, an expenditure of Rs 5,251.81 crore has been incurred on this project. Rs 1,789.56 crore is outstanding with the Government of Himachal Pradesh. The progress of this project is affected due to non-fulfillment of commitments by the State Government of Himachal Pradesh," Vaishnaw said."Some of the inhabitants of the area near the tunnel No. 17 of the Bhanupali-Bilaspur-Beri rail project have raised the issue of cracks in their houses. The state administration had constituted a committee to examine the issue."According to the minister, the committee in its report has mentioned that some existing cracks in the houses have increased but the cause was not clear as no blasting was done in the execution of tunnelling. However, on the recommendation of the committee, the houses were repaired with the latest techniques to give relief to the affected persons.Again, in June 2025, at the request of local persons, another committee was constituted by the state government and which includes an independent engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology, National Institute of Technology and a geology expert from the state Geology Department also for further examination of the issue, the minister said.Replying to questions related to the redevelopment of stations, Vaishnaw said so far, four stations such as Baijnath Paprola, Amb Andaura, Palampur Himachal and Shimla have been identified for development under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in Himachal Pradesh. PTI
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