The Centre has said that no land acquisition requisition has been sent to state governments for three proposed high-speed rail corridors linked to Hyderabad, warning that any acquisition carried out in the name of the projects at this stage would be illegal.
Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy issued the clarification on Saturday after land acquisition efforts by the Telangana government faced resistance from farmers on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The proposed corridors would connect Hyderabad with Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune.
Reddy said he had discussed the projects with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. According to Reddy’s statement, Vaishnaw clarified that the Railways had not sent any land acquisition requisition to the concerned state governments.
The minister said the alignment studies for all three corridors were still underway. The alignments will determine the routes that the high-speed rail lines could eventually take and the land parcels that may be required. Until that process is completed, the Centre has not authorised land acquisition for the corridors through a formal requisition, according to the clarification.
Reddy said that any land acquisition being undertaken at this stage in the name of high-speed rail would be illegal. His statement comes against the backdrop of resistance from farmers to land acquisition activity in areas around Hyderabad. The reported conflict highlights the importance of distinguishing between preliminary project studies and a formally approved alignment that identifies affected properties.
The three proposals would place Hyderabad at the centre of potential high-speed rail links to Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune. However, the statement does not provide a construction schedule, project cost, route map or completion timeline for any of the corridors. It also does not indicate that land acquisition has been approved for the projects.
The Railway Minister is expected to share details with the respective state governments and farmers after the alignment studies are finalised, Reddy said. Until then, the Centre’s position is that no state government has received a land acquisition requisition for these three proposed corridors.
