AGARTALA, June 19 (TIWN): With a bid to break the deadlock over the proposed India-Bangladesh railway project the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog was held on Thursday at New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr. Manoj Singh (Advisor), Transport. After several persuasions the meeting managed to issue a green signal to the 15-km Agartala-Akhaura rail project along Tripura. Meeting on Thursday has planned to commission Agartala-Akhaura rail line by 2017, said the Transport officials on Thursday. A team of Ministry of Railways would visit here at the state this month to take a stock of the situation and is expected to prepare a report on the proposed project and would submit it to the Railways Board.However, the meeting held on Thursday at New Delhi has decided to lay an overhead rail line from Badharghat rail station towards Agartala-Akhaura rail line covering a total of 2.5 km amongst the 5 km total run from Indian side. The rest 2.5 km would be rail line would be laid on surface.This has been planned with an aim to cut the estimated cost. Earlier Rs. 302 crore was demanded to acquire around 98 acres of land in India for laying the tracks. However, this would be reduced now as an overhead rail line would be laid from Agartala Badharghat rail station towards the Agartala Akhaura.During the meeting held at New Delhi on Thursday Foreign Affair Ministry, Joint Secretary along with DoNER Ministry Joint Secretary and the Railway Ministry representatives were remained present.

Besides, it has also been decided that the Ministry of Development of North east Region (DoNER) would not release any fund for the project therefore the fund would be released from the Ministry of Railway, Govt. of India, the meeting decided.  Giving a green signal to the proposed project at last the NITI Aayog on Thursday has asked to commission the project by 2017. The project work wopuld begin soon, said the state official here.  

The Rs.575-crore railway project was finalised in January 2010 during the Bangladesh prime minister's meeting with then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

Work to lay the 15-km railway track to link Tripura capital Agartala with Bangladesh's south eastern Akhaura city is yet to start although the two countries are very serious about executing the project, said the official on Thursday.

Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON) is expected to lay the tracks on both sides of the border, with five km falling in the Indian territory and the remaining in Bangladesh. However, keeping in view to boost socio-economic, trade and business ties between India and Bangladesh, the meeting on Thursday has ended successfully, the report said.

Earlier it was assumed that the proposed railway project would be delayed because the Tripura Government had said, “No funds were allocated in the railway budget for 2015-16, even for land acquisition”. As per the project India will build a 15km railway tracks linking Tripura's capital Agartala with Bangladesh's southeastern city of Akhaurah, an important railway junction connected to Chittagong port, resource-rich Sylhet and Dhaka. 

Several crucial meeting were held previous year where various pending issues relating to new Agartala-Akhaura rail link project were discussed. However, the NITI Aayog meeting held on Thursday had at last gave the green signal to the project after several persuasions.

Tripura's capital Agartala came on the country's railway map in October 2008. At present, the distance between Agartala and Kolkata is 1,650 km which would get reduced to 650 km if a line is constructed through Bangladesh.