West Bengal state forms task force to expedite railway projects
The Statesman | 8 June 2026
The state government today formed a task force of 20 officials to work on expediting various railway projects.
The formation of the task force comes two days after shift level meeting between Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw last Saturday at Nabanna. The CM had asked various district administrations to work on expediting various railway projects that had been stalled due to land acquisition issues. Following the instructions, a 20-member task force headed by the Chief Secretary was formed today.
In addition to the Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal, the task force includes general managers and senior officials of various railway zones namely Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, North Frontier Railway and Kolkata Metro Railway. The task force is to hold a weekly meeting mandatorily to discuss the pending issues and work on them accordingly.
The chief secretary would hold a high level meeting on monthly basis to expedite railway projects and issues including land hurdles.
Taking another crucial step, the ministry of railway issued a notification today for permanent land acquisition for Phase-1 of Kolkata’s Joka-Diamond Park Metro. The ministry has also called the citizens to register their claim on land parcels in the route of the Joka-Diamond Park Metro project.
Notably, the city Metro is considering extending its network till IIM Joka, taking the stretch to a 18km corridor. Another project is also to be done connecting IIM Joka to Mahanayak Uttam Kumar railway station thus linking the Purple Line to the Blue Line network. The two projects together are anticipated to enhanced rake utilisation and hence provide improved frequency and smoother services.
Moving a step ahead with the project, the Railway ministry today initiated a gazette notification for permanent land acquisition for Phase-1 of Kolkata’s Joka-Diamond Park Metro. The step targets over 5,871 square metres near Joka and its surrounding area for the project.
For this, the project alignment maps are currently open for public inspection at the Competent Authority’s Rash Bihari Avenue office. The ministry has given the affected landowners a strict 21-day deadline from the notification’s publication to file formal and written objections detailing their grievances.
After these submissions, the Competent Authority will conduct individual hearings allowing both personal and legal representation before issuing a final, binding order on all land claims.