The much-awaited Periodical Overhauling (POH) workshop at Kazipet is finally becoming a reality.
The State Government’s repeated requests for the workshop, if not the wagon manufacturing facility as assured in the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, will materialise once the foundation stone for the POH is laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
The issue has been evading a solution for over a decade now since the Central Government first sanctioned the wagon manufacturing facility at Kazipet in 2010-11. The Government had acquired endowment land to an extent of 54.15 acres belonging to Sree Seeta Ramachandra Swamy devasthanam at Madikonda in Hanamkonda mandal. But, the Railway Ministry had subsequently put on hold taking over the land because of its plan to review the need and requirement of new wagon manufacturing units in the country.
This was followed by sanctioning of POH in Kazipet in 2016-17 for which the Government had acquired 150.05 acres, including the 54.15 acres acquired earlier, at a total cost of ₹57 crore. Simultaneously, the process for acquiring 9.03 acres more belonging to the devasthanam and 1.07 acres private private land was set in motion. With the delay in commencement of works, the State Government had represented the issue to the Union Government besides flagging it at the meetings of the Southern Zonal Council. The Government had repeatedly said “the early commencement of works on the POH workshop needs to be ensured as the facility benefits the State Government economically and socially”.
At the 12th meeting of the standing committee of the southern zonal council on May 28 last year, the representative of the Department of Personnel and Training informed the council that “establishment of rail coach factory at Kazipet is not feasible in the present conditions”. At the same time, he informed that the Centre was considering establishment of POH workshop at Kazipet instead of rail coach factory. “If not the rail coach factory, at least the promised POH workshop should have been set up on priority and the delay in commencement of works is affecting Centre-State relations,” the State Government said in its communication to the Southern Zonal Council adding the issue was taken to the notice of South Central Railway headquartered at Secunderabad, but to no avail.
