Lok Sabha Question No. 4107 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-18
Subject: Railway Line between Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Gopal Jee Thakur

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4107 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.03.2020

## RAILWAY LINE BETWEEN DARBHANGA AND MUZAFFARPUR

- †4107. SHRI GOPAL JEE THAKUR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to establish a rail line connecting Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the work on the said project has been started;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f)  the steps being taken by the Government for speedy completion of the said project in a time-bound manner?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## ANSWER (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

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

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4107 BY SHRI GOPAL JEE THAKUR TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 18.03.2020 REGARDING RAILWAY LINE BETWEEN DARBHANGA AND MUZAFFARPUR

(a) to (f): Darbhanga-Muzaffarpur (67 Km) new line has been sanctioned. Latest anticipated cost of this project is ₹ 870 crore. Final Location Survey has been taken up.

Execution of a 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. All these factors vary from project to project and site to site and affect the completion time and cost of the project.

To ensure that project is 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 obstructing the progress of projects.

Besides,  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.

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

Budget Allocation (for projects falling full/partly in the State of Bihar):

-  Average  annual  Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  & safety works, falling fully/ partly in the State of Bihar, during 201419 has increased to ₹ 3,061 crore per year  from ₹ 1,132 crore per year  (during  2009-14),  which  is  170%  more  than  average  annual budget outlay of 2009-14.
-  Total  allocation  of  Budget  for  infrastructure  projects  &  safety works,  falling  fully/  partly  in  the  State  of  Bihar,  in  2019-20  is ₹ 4,093  crore,  which  is  262  %  more  than  average  annual  budget outlay of 2009-14.

## Commissioning of Projects (falling full/partly in the  State of Bihar):

-  During  2009-14,  318  Km  (150  Km  of  new  line,  160  km  of  Gauge conversion and 8 km of Doubling) projects, falling  fully/  partly  in the  State  of  Bihar,  have  been  commissioned  in  the  State  at  an average rate of 64 km per year.
-  During  2014-19,  695  Km  (240  km  of  new  line,  280  Km  Gauge conversion and 175 Km of Doubling) projects, falling fully/ partly in the  State  of  Bihar,  have  been  commissioned  in  the  State  at  an average  rate  of  139  km  per  year  which  is  118%  more  than  the commissioning during 2009-14.

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