Belagavi: Union minister V Somanna stated that railway projects in Karnataka were facing significant setbacks due to a lack of state cooperation in land acquisition. Despite substantial central funding, new initiatives are stalled by administrative hurdles. Specifically, the Belagavi-Kittur-Dharwad project is delayed, pending the acquisition of 55 acres. While legacy projects continued, Somanna emphasised that timely land handover was crucial for the Railway department to use allocated funds and complete modern infrastructure upgrades across the state.Speaking to media on budget analysis and implementation of railway projects in Karnataka on Saturday, he said that the Karnataka govt’s ‘indifference’ is hindering the construction of the long-awaited 73-kilometre-long Belagavi-Dharwad railway line. He personally met state ministers and officials many times and convinced them about the stalled railway projects, but there was no expected response from the state govt. He said he will meet the state chief secretary, and discussions will take place soon. If there is no response from the state govt, action will be taken under the law, he said.
Somanna described the 2026 Union Budget as not just a 1-year calculation; but as a visionary plan to make India a developed nation by 2047. The defence sector was allocated Rs 7.8 lakh crore, Rs 1.6 lakh crore for agriculture, Rs 1.3 lakh crore for education, Rs 7,748 crore for state railway projects, and Rs 8,559 crore for disaster management. He said the statements of Congress leaders that Karnataka was treated unfairly by the Centre were baseless.Opposition was expressed to the construction of the lower bridge at the 4th railway gate in Belagavi. The development of the Desuru-Belagavi railway at a cost of Rs 32 crore, the development of the Belagavi-Sambra station at a cost of Rs 40 crore, and the Khanapur-Desur railway station at a cost of Rs 17 crore were being carried out. Support was expected from the state govt and state govt officials. He said that 2 works were inaugurated out of the 7 railway gates in this section, and 5 were in progress.The use of Kannada was allowed in the Railway department examination. The central govt also gave approval to write the examination in the languages of the respective states. He said that if English and Hindi are not learned, there may be problems in future progress.Rajya Sabha member Iranna Kadadi, former MP Ramesh Katti, former MLA Arvind Patil, former MLC Mahantesh Kavatagimath, BJP city unit president Geeta Sutar, rural President Subhash Patil, corporator Hanumant Kongali, and Rajashekhar Doni were present.
