Central government allocates Rs 10,376 crore for railway projects in NE, Assam

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The central government has allocated Rs 10,376 crore for the current financial year of 2024-25 for railway infrastructure projects and other works falling fully or partially within the northeastern region, including the state of Assam. Compared to the amount allocated now, the amount allocated for the financial years of 2009-14 was Rs 2,122 crore on average per year.

This was revealed by the Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaisnaw in response to an unstarred question by Assam MP Dilip Saikia in the Lok Sabha today.

According to the Union Minister, the current allocation is nearly five times the average amount allocated during the period from 2009 to 2014.

It was stated by the Union Railway Minister that, as of April 1, 2024, 18 railway projects (13 new lines and 5 doubling), of total length of 1,368 km, costing Rs 74,972 crore, falling fully or partly in the North East Region, including the state of Assam, are at various stages of planning and implementation, out of which 313 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of Rs 40,549 crore has been incurred up to March 2024. Of the 313 km length of railway track commissioned, 81 km pertains to new lines and the remaining 232 km to double tracking.

The completion of any railway project depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by state governments, forest clearance by officials of the forest department, deposition of cost share by state governments in cost-sharing projects, priority of projects, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of the area, law and order situation in the area of the project(s) site, number of working months in a year for a particular project site due to climatic conditions, etc.

The government has taken various steps for speedy approval and implementation of railway projects, including (i) setting up of Gati Shakti units, (ii) prioritisation of projects (iii) substantial increase in allocation of funds on priority projects. (iv) delegation of powers at field level (v) close monitoring of progress of project at various levels, and (vi) regular follow-up with state governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry, and wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects. This has led to a substantial increase in the rate of commissioning since 2014.

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