New Delhi, Dec 21 (PTI) Maharashtra and Karnataka have been requested to provide free land and bear half the cost of the 155-km Nanded-Bidar project because of the low traffic projections on the line, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has informed the Lok Sabha.

BJP MP Pratap Govindrao Chikhalikar Patil had asked the Minister to state the reasons for delay in the laying of the Nanded–Bidar new railway line and the expenditure likely to be incurred on its laying.

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Vaishnaw in a written reply on Wednesday said "As the project is having low traffic projections, the government of Maharashtra and Karnataka have been requested to provide land free of cost and to share 50 per cent cost of construction of the project falling in respective states. However, their consent is awaited."

He said that the line was included in Budget 2018-19 subject to requisite approvals.

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(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)