Lok Sabha Question No. 2887 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-11
Subject: Rail Connectivity to Tribal Areasin Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ashok Mahadeorao Nete, Bharti Pravin Pawar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2887 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2020

## RAIL CONNECTIVITY TO TRIBAL AREAS IN MAHARASHTRA

## †2887. SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE: DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  various  parts  of  Maharashtra  still  lack  railway connectivity due to which residents of these areas are deprived of  railway  services  and  development  of  these  areas  has  also crippled particularly tribal dominated district headquarters of the country;
- (b) if so, the details of such areas; and
- (c) the  time  by  which  the  Government  is  likely  to  launch  projects pertaining to provide rail connectivity to these areas of Maharashtra so that people of these areas may get the railway services and development of these areas may take place?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

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

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2887  BY  SHRI  ASHOK  MAHADEORAO NETE AND DR. BHARATI PRAVIN PAWAR TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 11.03.2020  REGARDING  RAIL  CONNECTIVITY  TO  TRIBAL AREAS IN MAHARASHTRA

(a) to (c): Railway Projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes,    augmentation  of  congested/saturated  lines,  socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects, overall  availability  of  funds  and  competing  demands  which  covers connectivity in backward and rural areas also.  Railway Projects are sanctioned Zone-wise and not State-wise, as Indian Railway's network is straddled across various State boundaries.

Presently,  Indian  Railways  have  taken  up  498  Railway  projects  of 49,069  km  length,  costing ` 6.75  lakh  crore,  which  are  in  different stages of planning/sanction/execution, out of which, commissioning of 8,979 km length has been achieved upto March, 2019.

PROJECTS  IN  MAHARASHTRA  (falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of Maharashtra):

38 Projects costing ` 73,485 crore for 5,879 km  length, falling fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Maharashtra  are  under  different  stage  of planning/approval/execution. This includes:-

-  16  New  Line  Projects  covering  a  length  of  2,043  km  at  a  cost  of ` 38,129 crore. Out of which, 63 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 3,479 crore has been incurred upto March'19.
-  5  Gauge  Conversion  Projects  covering  a  length  of  1,135  km  at  a cost  of ` 11,102  crore.  Out  of  which,  500  Km  length  has  been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 4324 crore has been incurred upto March'19.
-  17  Doubling  Projects  covering  a  length  of  2,701  km  at  a  cost  of ` 24,255 crore. Out of which, 234 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 5,369 crore has been incurred upto March'19.

## BUDGET ALLOCATION (for the projects falling fully/partly in the State of Maharashtra):

-  Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  for  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 budget allocation during 2014-19 is 310% more as compared to average allocation of 2009-14 ( ` 11,71 crore).

-  Total  allocation  of  Budget  for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety works  falling  fully/  partly  in  State  of  Maharashtra,  in  2019-20  is ` 7,281 crore, which is 522% more than the average of 2009-14.This is the highest ever allocation made to the state.

COMMISSIONING  OF  PROJECTS  (falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of Maharashtra):

-  During  2009-14,  292  km  length  (111  km  New  Line,  135  km  Gage Conversion and 46 km Doubling) has been commissioned.
-  During  2014-19,  596  km  length  (87  km  New  Line,  92  km  Gage Conversion and 417 km Doubling) has been commissioned, which is 104% more with respect to commissioning achieved during 2009-14.

Out of the ongoing projects falling partly/fully in State of Maharashtra, the  work  has  been  taken  up  on  New  Line  projects  namely  WadsaGadchiroli and Wardha-Nanded and Doubling projects namely WardhaNagpur  3 rd   line  and  4 th   line,    Wardha  -  Ballarshah    3 rd   line,  Nagpur  Itarsi   3 rd   line and Nagpur 3 rd  line and two Gauge Conversion project namely, Nagpur to Nagbir and Ratlam-Mhow-Khandwa-Akola. All these projects  will  ensure  development  of  the  tribal  dominated  district  of Maharashtra State.

Project-wise details of Railway Projects 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).

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.  Hence,  no confirmed time frame can be fixed for completion of projects at this stage.

*****