Union Budget: Odisha gets Rs 5,252 crore allocation for railways

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Feb 6, 2018 at 2:37 PM Updated On : Feb 7, 2018 at 2:23 PM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has got an allocation of Rs 5,252 crore for railways sector in the Union Budget 2018-19, official sources said.

As many as 36 railway projects costing Rs 43,751 crore for 4,750 km in length are already under execution in the state, the sources added.

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The budget provision for Odisha is Rs 150 crore more than that of previous year’s allocation as the state had received Rs 5,102 crore for development of railways in the previous annual Union Budget.

It is the highest ever allocation for Odisha in any Budget pertaining to railways.

Earlier, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, had put forth a proposal regarding railway projects worth about Rs 6500 crores for the state in the Union Budget.

East Coast Railway (ECoR) General Manager Umesh Kumar Singh said on Tuesday that ECoR has received Rs 6,563 crore for different projects.

A total of Rs 1,933.60 crore has been allocated for new works for 2018-19. This includes Rs 215 crore for provision of crossing stations, connectivity from coaching complex to stations, additional loops and extension of loops.

Besides, budgetary allocation for ongoing new line projects has been made. While Rs 200 crore has been allocated for the new Angul-Sukinda Road line, Rs 200 crore have been earmarked for Haridaspur-Paradip line, Rs 625 crore for Khurda Road-Bolangir line and Rs 300 crore for Talcher-Bimalgarh line.

As many as Rs 220 crore have been provided for doubling of the Sambalpur-Talcher tracks, Rs 379 crore for Vizainagaram-Sambalpur third tracks, Rs 220 crore for Budhapank-Salegaon 3rd and 4th tracks and Rs 110 crore for Koraput-Singapore Road line, said Singh.

However, the Odisha government termed the budgetary allocation as “disappointing”.

“We had demanded Rs 6,500 crore for railway in Odisha, but the Centre allocated Rs 5,252 crore, which is only 2.5 per cent increase over last year’s allocation,” said Commerce and Transport Minister Nrusingha Charan Sahu.

He said the Railway is not taking up the ongoing projects seriously, leading to delay in their completion.

(With IANS inputs)