Tasks before NFR

It is good news that Northeast Frontier Railway has received Rs 1,511 crore more budgetary allocation in comparison to last year, which in turn will provide a major fillip to development of railway infrastructure in the region. The gross allocation in the Union Budget for NF Railway for the financial year 2021-22 is Rs 8,060 crore. In the previous year it was Rs 6,549 crore. Mathematically speaking, the gross budgetary allocation for NF Railway for the year 2021-22 is 238% more than the annual average of five years from 2009 to 2014. Several major ambitious railway projects in the Northeast have been lagging much behind their respective targets for completion despite a special interest shown by the Modi government since it assumed office in 2014. While putting the state capitals of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya on the national railway map is still a distant dream due to various factors, electrification and double-tracking are two other areas which require urgent attention. The Meghalaya government has to play a special role in speedy completion of the railway link to Byrnihat, while it is for the Nagaland government to clear all hurdles which are standing in the way of completing the railway project connecting Kohima. The Aizawl railway link is said to be progressing well after some major initial hitches, while Imphal looks like being first in the race among four state capitals of the Northeast to get connected with the rest of India through railways. NF Railway meanwhile needs to look at immediately restoring the railway services which were suspended during the lockdown last year, while one more pair each for the Dibrugarh-Guwahati-Naharlagun Shatabdi Express and the Guwahati-Jorhat Jana-Shatabdi Express. NF Railway authorities should also urgently take up the issue of evicting several thousand encroachers who have been illegally occupying railway land across the state including Guwahati, Lumding, Tinsukia and Dimapur.