Revenue authorities ready to hand over 10 acres additionally for POH unit of Railways

Though the demand for a full-fledged coach manufacturing factory at Kazipet, the Railways decided to build the POH instead.

Hanamkonda: Revenue authorities submitted a letter on behalf of the state government to the railway authorities urging them to commence construction on the periodical overhauling unit (POH), also known as the wagon repair workshop, at Kazipet, promising to hand over additional land of 10 acres to them within next two months. Though the demand for a full-fledged coach manufacturing factory at Kazipet, the Railways decided to build the POH instead. In January last, the contract for the project was awarded to Power Mech–Taikisha JV (Joint Venture) at a cost of Rs 361.79 crore.

Originally, the workshop was planned to be constructed in Secunderabad but was later shifted to Kazipet. During the previous UPA government’s tenure, the Ministry of Railways had requested 55 acres of land for a coach factory. However, due to delays by the then rulers of united Andhra Pradesh in handing over the land, the project faced setbacks.

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After Telangana was formed, the state government purchased Endowments Department land on Ayodhyapuram village outskirts. The land was subsequently handed over to the Railway Department.

However, the project was put on hold by the BJP government at the center. However, due to mounting pressure from the BRS government, the center announced in the railway budget for 2016-17 that a Periodical Overhauling unit (POH) would be constructed at Kazipet. The project required a total of 160 acres of land, with 54.32 acres already allocated to the railways. An additional 105 acres of land was requested for the project.

Responding to this demand, the Telangana government handed over 150 acres of land to the railway department on September 23, 2022, with a promise to provide the remaining 10 acres later.

The workshop is expected to have the capacity to repair 200 wagons per month, and the entire project is scheduled to be completed by February 2025. This will likely provide employment to around 3,000 people.

Work is underway to clear and level the land, construct a compound wall, and establish temporary sheds. The construction of the main workshop sheds will commence following the formal conduct of a ‘Bhoomi Pooja’ ceremony. Additionally, plans include setting up 10 railway tracks at the unit.

Devulapalli Raghavender, Convener of the Telangana Railway Employees JAC, has urged the railway authorities to expedite the construction of the POH sheds. Raghavender, along with other union leaders, recently inspected the progress of the shed work at the proposed site on June 18.

Meanwhile, West MLA Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar expressed his commitment to continue the struggle for establishing a coach manufacturing unit in the region. The Centre had previously promised a Railway Coach Factory to Telangana in the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014, but the promise remained unfulfilled.