Lok Sabha Question No. 3816 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Khurda-Bolangir Railway Line Project
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3816 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019

## KHURDA-BOLANGIR RAILWAY LINE PROJECT

## 3816. SHRIMATI SANGEETA KUMARI SINGH DEO:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  there  is  inordinate  delay  in  completion  of  railway  line projects in Odisha;
- (b) if  so,  the  current  status  of  Khurda-Bolangir  railway  line  project; and
- (c) the steps being taken by the Government to complete the KhurdaBolangir railway line project?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a) At present, 36 Projects costing ` 49,984 crore for 4,567 km length, falling fully/partly in Odisha are under different stages of planning/approval/execution.  This includes:-
- 10 New Line Projects are covering a length of 1,269 km at a cost of ` 16,598 crore. Out of which, 80 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 4,260 crore has been incurred upto March 2019.
- 1 Gauge Conversion (GC) project is covering a length of 140 km at a cost of ` 1349 crore. Out of which, 90 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 191 crore has been incurred.

25  Doubling  Projects  are  covering  a  length  of  3,159  km  at  a  cost  of 32,037 crore.  Out  of  which,  494  Km  length  has  been  commissioned 8,246  crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March

` and  an  expenditure  of ` 2019.

The  timely  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, cooperation  and  zeal of State Government  for  early completion of project, 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 affect the completion time of the project, which is finely worked out at the completion stage.

(b)  and  (c)  Railway  has  taken  up  work  of  Khurda  Road-Bolangir New Line  (289  Km),  costing ` 3798.80  crore.  Expenditure  incurred  upto March,  2019  is ` 1327.09  crore  and  an  outlay  of ` 350  crore  has  also been provided in the Budget 2019-20.

This Project is of 289 km length and divided into two parts. 1 st  part is from km 0 to km 112 and 2 nd   part is from km 112 to km 289. 1 st  part (km 0 to km 112) is fully funded by Railway, while, 2 nd  part (from km 112 to km 289) is on cost sharing, in which, the land is to be provided free of cost by Government of Odisha along with sharing 50% cost of construction.

So far, 92 km  length of the project  has  been  completed  and commissioned.  Land  acquisition  and  forestry  clearance  have  been taken up in balance section and work taken up in available land.

In the overall interest of the nation and for smooth execution of work a 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 authorities concerned to resolve the issues that are obstructing the progress of projects. *****