Lok Sabha Question No. 588 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Railway Projects in Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ashok Mahadeorao Nete

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 588 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.09.2020

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

†588. SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the State-wise number of railway projects in Maharashtra regarding which the construction works were started a decade ago;
- (b) the reasons for not completing the works till date;
- (c) the stages at which the said railway projects are at present; and
- (d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Union Government to complete the said projects at the earliest without further delay and to prevent further cost escalation?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 588 BY SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 16.09.2020 REGARDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN MAHARASHTRA

(a) to (c):     Railway Projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway-wise; not State-wise as Railway Network straddles across various State boundaries.  However, 39 Projects costing ` 86,696 crore for 6,722 km length  falling  fully/partly  in  Maharashtra  are  under  different  stage  of planning/approval/execution. These include:

- o 16 New Line Projects covering a length of 2,017 km at a cost of ` 42,003 crore, out of which 62 km length has been commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 4,141  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2020.
- o 5 Gauge Conversion Projects covering a length of 1,146 km at a cost  of ` 11,080  crore,  out  of  which  589  km  length  has  been commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 5,048  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2020.
- o 18 Doubling Projects covering a length of 3,559 km at a cost of ` 33,613 crore, out of which 375 km length has been commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 8,652  crore  has  been incurred upto March 2020.

Out  of  these  39  projects,  following  8  projects  (3  New  Lines,  3 Gauge  Conversion  and  2  Doubling)  have  been  sanctioned  and  work started upto 2010-11.  List of these projects is as under:

| S.No.   | Name of project                | Length (km)   | Year of sanction   |
|---------|--------------------------------|---------------|--------------------|
|         | NEW LINES                      |               |                    |
| 1.      | Ahmednagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath | 261.25        | 1995-96            |
| 2.      | Baramati-Lonand                | 63.65         | 1998-99            |

| S.No.   | Name of project                                                                   | Length (km)   | Year of sanction   |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------|--------------------|
| 3.      | Wardha-Nanded via Yavatmal-Pusad                                                  | 284           | 2008-09            |
|         | GAUGE CONVERSION                                                                  |               |                    |
| 4.      | Jabalpur-Gondia including Balaghat- Katangi                                       | 300           | 1996-97            |
| 5.      | Chhindwara-Nagpur                                                                 | 150           | 2005-06            |
| 6.      | Ratlam-Mhow-Khandwa-Akola and MM of Fatehabad-Chandrawati Ganj-Ujjain             | 495.56        | 2008-09            |
|         | DOUBLING                                                                          |               |                    |
| 7.      | Daund-Gulbarga Doubling (224.90 km) and Pune-Guntakal Electrification (641.37 km) | 225           | 2009-10            |
| 8.      | Godhani-Kalumna Chord                                                             | 13.7          | 2010-11            |

Details  of  all  ongoing  projects  including  cost,  expenditure  and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railways website i.e.  www.indianrailways.gov.in  >Ministry  of  Railways  >Railway  Board >About Indian Railways >Railway Board Directorates >Finance (Budget) >Rail  Budget/Pink  Book  (Year)>  Railway  wise  Works  Machinery  and Rolling Stock Programme.

-  BUDGET  ALLOCATION  FOR  INFRASTRUCTURE  PROJECTS  AND SAFETY WORKS  FALLING FULLY/PARTLY IN THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA:
-  Average annual Budget allocation on infrastructure projects and safety  works,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra, during 2014-19 has increased to ` 4,801 crore per year from ` 1,171 crore per year (during 2009-14). Thus, the average annual Budget allocation during 2014-19 is 310% more as compared to average annual allocation of 2009-14.
-  Average annual Budget allocation on infrastructure projects and safety  works,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra,

5,214 crore which is 345% more as  compared  to  average  annual  budget  allocation  of  2009-14

- during 2014-20 has increased to ` ( ` 1,171 crore per year).
-  Total  allocation  of  Budget  for  infrastructure  projects  and  safety works  falling  fully/  partly  in  State  of  Maharashtra,  for  Financial Year  2020-21  is ` 6,700  crore,  which  is  472%    more  than  the average  annual  Budget  allocation  of  2019-14  ( ` 1,171  crore  per year) and also 40% more than average annual budget allocation of 2014-19 ( ` 4801 crore per year).
-  COMMISSIONING OF NEW LINE, GAUGE CONVERSION AND DOUBLING PROJECTS (FALLING FULLY/PARTLY IN THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA):
-  During  2009-14, 292  km  length  (111  km  of  New  Line,  135  km  of Gauge Conversion and 46 km of Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra, have been commissioned at an average rate 58 km per year.
-  During  2014-19,  596  km  length  (87  km  of  New  Line,  92  km  of Gauge Conversion and 417 km of Doubling) falling  fully/partly  in the State of Maharashtra, have been commissioned at an average rate  119  km  per  year,  which  is  104%  more  than  commissioning during 2009-14.
-  During 2019-20, 183 km of Doubling falling fully/partly in the State of  Maharashtra,  has  been  commissioned  in  the  State  which  is 216% more than average commissioning in 2009-14.

Completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities,  statutory clearances  from  various authorities, geological  and  topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic  conditions  etc.  and  all  these  factors  differ  from  project  to project  and  affect  the  completion  time  of  the  project.  As  such,  firm completion time of the project cannot be ascertained at this stage. (d): In the overall interest of the nation and to ensure that projects are completed  in  time  without  cost  overrun,  lot  of  monitoring  is  done  in Railways at various levels (field level, Divisional level, Zonal level and Board level) and regular meetings are held with the officials of State Government and concerned authorities regarding quick land acquisition,  forestry  clearances, tackling law and order issues and to resolve the pending  issues  that  are obstructing  the progress  of projects. To ensure that projects are completed even before time, Railway has adopted the concept of incentives to the contractor in the form of bonus  clause  in  contracts  which  will  further  enhance  the  pace  of execution of projects. Funds  for  capacity  enhancement  projects  have  been  arranged capacity

through institutional financing for assured funding enhancement projects.

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