Mumbai, May 18 -- The railways is in the process of acquiring several parcels of salt pan land stretching from Dahisar till Vasai, encompassing 33.95 acres, for a nominal fee of Rs.1 per plot. It has already received possession of more than 30 acres, where essential ground improvement work is underway, while the remaining land is expected to be handed over soon, once necessary permissions are obtained, officials familiar with the matter told Hindustan Times. The land will be used by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) to create parking space for local trains, also known as stabling lines. The need for new stabling lines arose after the stabling lines at Jogeshwari, Goregaon and Kandivali were eliminated recently to make way for the fifth and sixth railway tracks on the western line. "In all, 22 stabling lines will be created between Dahisar and Vasai," said a senior railway official. "At present, there is very little space for parking trains." The land acquisition process had seen steady progress in recent months, officials said. In Vasai, the railways took possession of 11.92 hectares (29.5 acres) of salt pan land on January 23, after the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) granted consent for land diversion, and the railways deposited Rs.176.82 crore in court towards rehabilitation of those affected by the project. Another 1.81-ha (4.5-acre) plot in Bhayander is likely to be transferred to the railways once consent is received from the DPIIT, officials said. Most of the land being acquired was either encroached upon or lying vacant, the officials noted. "In cases where we have received possession of land, contracts for extensive earthwork and essential ground improvement have been awarded, and work has already commenced on ground," said the official quoted earlier. Once new stabling lines are in place, it will help clear bottlenecks along the tracks and allow Western Railway to run more local trains, officials said....