Lok Sabha Question No. 2921 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-11
Subject: Sanctioned Railway Projects
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Riti Pathak, Jugal Kishore Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2921 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2020

## SANCTIONED RAILWAY PROJECTS

†2921. SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK: SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the railway projects sanctioned, zone-wise during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) whether  a  large  number  of  Railway  projects  are  lying  pending due to financial hurdles;
- (c) if  so,  the details thereof and the fund allotted/ spent,  zone-wise for these projects; and
- (d) the steps taken/being taken by the Railways to complete these projects within fixed time limit at the earliest?

## 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. 2921 BY SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK AND SHRI JUGAL  KISHORE  SHARMA  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 11.03.2020 REGARDING SANCTIONED RAILWAY PROJECTS

(a):  The  Zone-wise  list  of  works  of  New  Line,  Doubling  and  Gauge Conversion included in Budget, during last 3 years and current year is as under:-

| Zonal Railway              | Years   | Years   | Years   | Years   |
|----------------------------|---------|---------|---------|---------|
|                            | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
| Central Railway            | 7       | 3       | 5       | 1       |
| Eastern Railway            | 2       | 0       | 0       | 1       |
| East Central Railway       | 7       | 1       | 4       | 5       |
| East Coast Railway         | 2       | 1       | 2       | 1       |
| Northern Railway           | 6       | 7       | 4       | 6       |
| North Central Railway      | 9       | 5       | 10      | 1       |
| North Eastern Railway      | 9       | 5       | 0       | 1       |
| Northeast Frontier Railway | 2       | 5       | 0       | 2       |
| North Western Railway      | 0       | 2       | 3       | 4       |
| Southern Railway           | 2       | 1       | 2       | 4       |
| South Central Railway      | 1       | 1       | 1       | 3       |
| South Eastern Railway      | 3       | 2       | 5       | 4       |
| South East Central Railway | 2       | 0       | 1       | 1       |
| South Western Railway      | 1       | 1       | 6       | 3       |
| Western Railway            | 3       | 19      | 5       | 0       |
| West Central Railway       | 3       | 0       | 2       | 0       |

(b)  to  (d):  Sufficient  funds  have  been  provided  to  the  ongoing  Railway projects.

Average  Annual  Budget  allotment  in  New  Line,  Doubling  and  Gauge Conversion Projects during 2014-19 has increased to ` 26,026 crore from ` 11,527  crore  during  2009-14,  which  is  126%  more  as  compared  to average allotment during 2009-14.  Total  Budget  allotment in  New  Line, Doubling and Gauge Conversion Projects has increased to ` 38,803 crore in  2019-20  from ` 11,527  crore  during  2009-14,  which  is  237%  more  as compared to average annual budget allotment during 2009-14.

Based on operational requirement, thorough review of throughput enhancement projects has been carried out and with focused approach, the projects have been prioritized into Super Critical Projects (58 nos) and Critical Projects (68 nos.).

As on 01.04.2019, the balance length of Super Critical Projects is  2347 Km  and  5676  Km  of  Critical  Projects.  All  out  sincere  and  focused approach  is  being  adopted  by  Railway  for  quick  execution  and  early return to Railways.

To achieve the above objective, and for fast pace execution of projects, New  Paradigm  shift  has  taken  place  in  planning  of  projects,  so  that, available resources are utilized judiciously for optimum results. Thus, the funds have been allotted in focused manner, so as to achieve value for money and to benefit the Nation.

To complete the Super Critical & Critical capacity enhancement projects in time bound manner, around ` 4,300 crore have been proposed for Super Critical  projects,  around ` 8,300  crore  for  Critical  projects  and  around ` 9,100 crore for other Doubling projects.

Hence,  the  money  has  been  proposed  to  the  projects  which  are  in advance  stage  of  completion,  important  new  line  National  Projects, executable  &  Important  Gauge  Conversion  projects  and  the  projects which  are  important  from  the  throughput  enhancement  considerations. Thus,  the  focused  attention  is  given  in  proposed  fund  allotment,  rather than thinly spreading the resources without fruitful results.

The  project-wise detail including cost, expenditure  and outlay are 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)>Railway-wise  Works  Machinery  &  Rolling  Stock  Programme  > Regular Budget (year).

The  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 (both underground and over  ground),  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,  encountering unforeseen conditions like earthquake,  flooding,  excessive  rains,  strikes    of    labour,  orders  of Hon'ble Courts, situation and conditions  of working agencies/contractors etc. and all  these  factors  vary  from  project  to  project  and   site   to site   and   affect  completion  of  the projects. Hence, no confirmed time frame can be fixed for completion of projects.

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 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.

For  capacity  enhancement  projects,  institutional  financing  has  been arranged,  which  has  increased  Railways'  capacity  for  committed  fund provision for capacity enhancement projects.

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