Tamil Nadu Minister M.K. Stalin. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Sunday (February 8, 2026) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi detailing the status of land acquisition for Railway projects in Tamil Nadu and sought his intervention for their speedy execution. He called for timely release of funds for land acquisition and the revival of projects placed in abeyance.
Mr. Stalin said he was constrained to write the letter in the light of some “factually incorrect information” being spread in the media in this regard. In Tamil Nadu, administrative sanctions have been accorded for land acquisition to an extent of 2500.61.06 hectares of land for implementation of various Railway Projects. Of this, Railways have not sanctioned funds for an extent of 931.52.96 hectares of land.
Administrative sanction for land acquisition in respect of two projects for which revised Land Plan Schedule (LPS) was received recently from Railways for an extent of 296.02.95 hectares of private lands are under process and will be issued shortly. Of the balance extent of 1273.05.15 hectares of land pertaining to 19 major ongoing Railway projects, land acquisition have been completed for an extent of 1198.02.34 hectares of lands (94%) and the same have been handed over to the Railways. However, in respect of five projects, the LPS is yet to be furnished by the Railways, the Chief Minister said.
Land acquisition have been fully completed in respect of major Railway Projects such as Tindivanam-Nagari Broad Gauge Line (BGL), Madurai-Thoothukudi BGL, Maniyachi-Nagercoil BGL, Kanniyakumari-Nagercoil doubling of BGL, Nagercoil-Eraniel doubling of BGL, Thoothukudi-Madurai (via Aruppukkottai) new BGL (Phase-I), Chinnasalem-Kallakurichi new BGL, Mayiladuthurai-Tiruvarur BGL, four junction point in Pattukkottai, new BGL (Salem-Karur track formation), Mannargudi-Needamangalam BGL, Chennai Beach-Korukkupet 3/4th line, and Villupuram-Dindigul BGL. For remaining projects, the land acquisition is being carried out expeditiously, the Chief Minister said.
“I wish to highlight that timely payment of compensation to landowners is an essential prerequisite for completing the land acquisition process. Regrettably, delays in the release of funds by the Ministry of Railways, often in piecemeal manner for individual projects have severely hampered progress. This has led to disruptions, prolonged uncertainty for affected landowners and delays in project execution,” Mr. Stalin said.
A pertinent example is the pending acquisition of 16.86.51 hectares for the doubling of Broad-Gauge Railway Line between Thiruvananthapuram–Kanniyakumari project. The Railways is yet to allocate the required funds amounting to ₹ 289.78 crore for settling compensation. This is a major project in Tamil Nadu, also under monitoring through the PMG portal of the Government of India. A lumpsum and timely allocation of funds for land acquisition, rather than piecemeal releases, would enable uninterrupted and expeditious completion of these critical Projects, he said.
According to him, the State government has accorded highest priority to railway projects and established a robust monitoring mechanism. The Chief Secretary and the Transport Secretary regularly convene monthly coordination meetings with Railway officials to resolve implementation bottlenecks and expedite land acquisition for pending projects, he said.
“At this juncture, I would also like to express concern over the relatively limited allocation of new railway projects to Tamil Nadu in recent years. As the second-largest economy in the country and a major hub for manufacturing and industrial growth, Tamil Nadu continues to make substantial contributions to national GDP and exports. The State possesses immense potential to further bolster the nation’s economic progress through enhanced rail connectivity and infrastructure,” he said.
He urged the Prime Minister to intervene and direct the Ministry of Railways to release the required funds for sanctioned projects without delay, preferably in full and on a priority basis, to facilitate smooth land acquisition and compensation processes. He called for reconsidering and restarting important projects kept in abeyance by the Railways such as Thoothukudi – Madurai (Via Aruppukottai) new BGL and Tindivanam – Tiruvannamalai BGL (for which administrative sanctions has already been issued for acquisition of 931.52.96 hectares) and provide necessary funding support.
The State government was fully committed to extending cooperation for the speedy execution of railway projects, he assured.
Published – February 08, 2026 10:01 am IST
