Railways to revise Hubballi-Ankola railway project

The Karnataka High Court received confirmation from the Ministry of Railways that they will be presenting an amended proposal for the Hubballi-Ankola Railway Line Project, aligning with the guidance provided by the National Board for Wildlife's committee.

The Railways' commitment to this course of action was documented in the form of an affidavit, which prompted the division bench composed of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice MGS Kamal to dismiss a series of Public Interest Litigations (PILs) challenging the Karnataka State Board for Wildlife's decision to proceed with the project.

Concerns were raised by the petitioners regarding the allocation of 595.64 hectares of forest land in Karwar, Yellapura, and Dharwad divisions for the construction of a new Broad Gauge Railway line connecting Hubballi and Ankola.

In their affidavit, the Railways clarified that the National Board for Wildlife had formed the committee in response to the high court's directives. This committee, in turn, instructed the Railways to resubmit the project proposal in accordance with its recommendations.