opensansad/lok-sabha-qa huggingface dataset:
Lok Sabha Question No. 92 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: India based Neutrino Observatory
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 92

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18/07/2018

## INDIA BASED NEUTRINO OBSERVATORY

## 92. ADV. JOICE GEORGE:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- a) The current status of the India based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project;
- b) whether any progress has been made in the setting up of the said project and if so, the details thereof;
- c) whether the Government has noticed that blasting under the said project will last for years to remove a big quantity of rock and if so, the details thereof;
- d) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  study  regarding  the  impact  of INO  construction  to  nearby  dams  and  hydel  power  projects  and  if  so,  the details and the outcome thereof; and
- e) whether there is any possibility of seismic incidents due to INO project in the region and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  AND PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR.JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a)&(b)  Environmental clearance for the project has been obtained. Application for Wildlife  Clearance  and  Tamil  Nadu  Pollution  Control  Board  (TNPCB)  has been submitted. An 85 ton prototype mini-ICAL detector has been built and is working at IICHEP premises in Madurai.
- (c) The approximately 2 km long tunnel and the laboratory caverns is required to be made using controlled blasting and take about 3 years to complete. The vibrations  will  not  be  above  the  acceptable  limits  of  less  than  1mm/sec beyond  about  200m  distance  from  the  blast  zone.  The  total  amount  of excavated  rock  is  about  230,000  cubic  metres.  This  is  comparable  to  that removed from railway or road tunnels of similar length.
- (d) Yes,  Sir.  The  vibrations  reduce  to  negligible  levels  beyond  a  few  hundred metres. Dams such as Vaigai and Mullaiperiyar which are about 30 km away will not be affected. In fact, these vibrations will not even be felt in the nearby villages which are a few kms. away.
- (e) There is no possibility of seismic events triggered by work at the INO site. However, seismic monitoring has to be carried out during construction as an abundant measure of caution.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 91 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Separate Railway Zone
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO (AVNTHI), MURALI MOHAN MAGANTI, KINJARAPU RAM MOHAN NAIDU, KONAKALLA NARAYANA RAO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 91 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## SEPARATE RAILWAY ZONE

91. SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO (AVANTHI):

SHRI M. MURALI MOHAN:

SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

SHRI KONAKALLA NARAYANA RAO:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the formation of a separate Visakhapatnam railway zone is under consideration of the Government;
- (b)   if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the present status of the proposal and the reasons for the inordinate delay; and
- (d)    the  time  by  which  it  would  be  created  in  accordance  with  the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a)  to  (d):    As  per  Item  8  of  Schedule  13  (Infrastructure)  of  Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, Ministry of Railways was required to examine  the  feasibility  of  establishing  a  new  Railway  Zone  in  the successor State of Andhra Pradesh. To, inter-alia, examine the feasibility  of  establishing  a  new  Railway  Zone,  a  Committee  of  senior Railway  officers  had  been  constituted.  The  Committee  was  asked  to consult  various  stake  holders,  including  the  Members  of  Parliament, State Governments, etc. before a final decision is taken. The Committee has already submitted its report. In view of the complexities involved in the  exercise,  the  matter  is  under  further  detailed  examination  in  the Ministry of Railways.

* * * * *
Lok Sabha Question No. 90 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Laying of Railway Tracks
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK, MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 90 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## LAYING OF RAILWAY TRACKS

- †90.    SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK: SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the length of rail track laid down daily during the last three years;
- (b) the length of rail track being laid down daily at present; and
- (c) the efforts made by the Government to complete laying of rail tracks on time and the outcome thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a): Length  of  Railway  tracks  laid  down  daily  during  last  three years  is as under:-

| Financial Year   |   Commissioning in (km) per day |
|------------------|---------------------------------|
| 2015-16          |                            7.75 |
| 2016-17          |                            7.82 |
| 2017-18          |                            5.1  |

- (b): For  2018-19,  target  of  4100  km  has  been  fixed  which includes 1000 km of New Line, 1000 km of Gauge Conversion and  2100  km  of  Doubling.  The  targeted  daily  length  of commissioning for this period is 11.23 km.
- (c): For  timely  completion  of  the  projects,  Railway  is  holding regular  meetings  with  State  Government  and  concerned Central  Government  officials  on  various  issues  involving alignment, land acquisition, forestry and wild life clearances, law & order problems, shifting of utilities etc.

For important projects, capacity enhancement projects, last mile connectivity etc,  institutional financing has been done by  arranging  loan  from  M/s  Life  Insurance  Corporation  of India  Limited  for 1.5  lakh  crore,  which  has  increased Railways' capacity for committed fund provision for essential projects.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 88 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Iran Nuclear Deal
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: C. N. JAYADEVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.88

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL

88. SHRI C.N. JAYADEVAN:

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the US has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof and its implications on India?

ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]

(a) & (b) India has noted the remarks made by the President of the United   States   on   the   withdrawal   of   the   United   States   from   the   Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on 8 May 2018. The United States has decided to re-impose sanctions on Iran as a result of its withdrawal from JCPOA.

India is not a party to the JCPOA. The other remaining parties to the JCPOA (UK, France, Germany, Russia, China, Iran and the European Union) have stated that they will abide by the Agreement. India continues to monitor the developments and study the implications of the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA. Government will take all necessary measures to safeguard our national interest.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 86 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Electoral Malpractices
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: BALKA SUMAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 86

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 18 th  JULY, 2018

## Electoral Malpractices

## 86. SHRI SUMAN BALKA:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether Election Commission has launched any mobile app for exposing electoral malpractices in Karnataka Assembly elections recently;
- (b) if so, the details of the complaints received on such malpractices;
- (c) whether the Election Commission has plans to introduce this app in the coming Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LAW AND JUSTICE AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS (SHRI P.P.CHAUDHARY)

- (a) to (e) : The information is being collected and will be laid on the Table of the House.

*******
Lok Sabha Question No. 85 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Wi-Fi at Stations
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shrirang Appa Barne, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, DHARMENDRA YADAV, ANANDRAO  ADSUL, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.85 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## WI-FI AT STATIONS

85.  SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government has taken a decision to provide free wi-fi at all railway stations and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  number of stations, where free wi-fi has been provided as on date and the target fixed for the same;
- (c)  whether the Union Government has collaborated with Google and Department of Telecommunication in this regard;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the details of source of funding for the world's largest wi-fi project?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a): Ministry of Railway has decided to provide free Wi-Fi facility at all stations  except  Halt  stations,  without  involving  any  expenditure  on Railways' account.

(b): Against the target for provision of Wi-Fi at 100 stations in 2016-17, 200 stations in 2017-18 & 500 stations in 2018-19, 707 stations have been provided with Wi-Fi facility as on date.

(c)  &  (d):  RailTel  has  entered  into  an  agreement  with  M/s  Mahataa Information India Private Ltd. (MIIPL) (a group company of M/s Google Inc.) for providing Wi-Fi facility at 'A1' and 'A' category of stations.

(e):  The  cost  of  providing  Wi-Fi  at  'A1'  and  'A'  category  of  stations where RailTel has entered into agreement with M/s Mahataa Information  India  Private  Ltd.  (MIIPL)  is  shared  by  RailTel  and  M/s MIIPL.

RailTel has been advised to follow revenue sharing model for 'B' & 'C' category stations also.

Department  of  Telecommunication  has  been  approached  to  provide funds  under  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  for  Wi-Fi  at D & E category stations.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 84 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Internal Resources of Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: RAMA DEVI, VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.84 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## INTERNAL RESOURCES OF RAILWAYS

- †84.  SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:
- SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
- (a) whether the internal resources of the Railways are decreasing;
- (b) if so, the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (c) the efforts made/proposed to be made by the Government to arrest the  decreasing trend in internal resources and the outcome of the efforts made so far?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

(SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (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.84 BY SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI AND SHRI VIJAY  KUMAR  HANSDAK  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 18.07.2018 REGARDING INTERNAL RESOURCES OF RAILWAYS. (a) Yes, Madam. The internal resource generated by the Railways reduced to ` 10,113  cr  and ` 3,206  cr  (provisional)  in  2016-17  and 2017-18 respectively as compared to ` 16,106 cr in 2015-16. (b) This was due to the reason that working expenses comprising pay, allowances and pension grew sharply pursuant to implementation of the recommendations of 7 th Central Pay Commission.  Past  experience  has  shown  that  during  the  years  of implementation of Pay Commissions, the internal resource position of  Railways  is  usually  impacted  adversely,  but  in  years  following, with the earnings picking up, the position gradually improves. (c) Improvement  in  internal  resource  generation  is  attempted through  maximization  of  railway  earnings  and  minimization  of revenue  expenditure.  Earnings  enhancing  measures,  inter  alia, include  targeting  progressively  higher  traffic  throughput,  effective and  innovative  marketing  strategies  to  capture  more  and  more traffic, creation of additional capacity and optimum utilization of the existing rail infrastructure, enhancement in productivity and efficiency, improvement of passenger interface, periodic rationalization of fare and freight rates and focus on increasing the share of non-fare revenue sources in Railways' earnings. Expenditure control measures include strict economy and austerity measures,  improved  man-power  planning,  better  asset  utilization, inventory management, optimizing fuel consumption etc. 13,490

Accordingly an internal resource generation target of ` cr has been kept in Budget Estimates 2018-19.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 83 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: New Train between Mumbai and Delhi
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: PARESH RAWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 83 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## NEW TRAIN BETWEEN MUMBAI AND DELHI

83. SHRI PARESH RAVAL:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  plan  to  start  new  train  between Mumbai and Delhi; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a)  &  (b):    At  present,  there  is  no  proposal  to  introduce  a  new  train service  between  Mumbai  and  Delhi.    However,  to  cater  to  the seasonal rush, special trains are operated on the Mumbai-Delhi sector and accordingly, 09003/09004 Bandra(T)-Nizamuddin special Rajdhani Express has been operated.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 79 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Welfare Scheme for Minorities
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: PINAKI MISRA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.79 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## Welfare Scheme for Minorities

## 79. SHRI PINAKI MISRA:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has come up with any new welfare schemes for the minority section of the society;
- (b) if so, the details of the schemes that have been exclusively initiated in the last four years; and
- (c) the quantum of fund allocated for each of the schemes and the percentage of funds utilized in the past three years till 30 th June, 2018?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

(a)& (b):  The Government has initiated the following new welfare schemes for the minority sections of the society during the last four years:-

- (1) Nai Manzil - A scheme for formal school education & skilling of school dropouts.
- (2) USTTAD (Upgrading  the  Skills  and  Training  in  Traditional  Arts/Crafts  for  Development) Scheme.    Hunar  Haat  is  also  being  organised  under  this  Scheme  from  2016-17  to  further promote traditional crafts/arts, employment generation and strengthen their market linkages. Till  2017-18,  06  Hunar  Haats  have  been  organized  successfully.    For  2018-19,  07  Hunar Haats are proposed for being organised.
- (3) Hamari  Dharohar  -  Implementation  of  this  scheme  is  done  to  preserve  rich  heritage  of minority communities under the overall concept of Indian Culture.
- (4) Gharib Nawaz Skill Development Training for Minorities - A scheme to provide short-term job oriented skill development courses to youths belonging to 06 Centrally notified minority communities, namely, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis and Jains {implemented through Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF)}.
- (5) Bridge  Course  for  madarsa  students  &  school  dropouts  by  Aligarh  Muslim  University, Aligarh  and  Jamia  Millia  Islamia,  New  Delhi  under  Nai  Manzil  scheme.  (implemented through MAEF).
- (6) Swachh Vidyalaya (implemented through MAEF).

The details of the schemes at serial No. (1) to (3) are available on the website of this Ministry ( www.minorityaffairs.gov.in )  and  those  at  serial  No.(4)  to  (6)  are  available  on  the  website  of MAEF ( www.maef.nic.in ).

(c): The details of quantum of fund allocated for each of the schemes and the percentage of funds utilized  in  the  last  three  years  till  30 th June,  2018  are  available  on  the  website  of  the  Ministry  at www.minorityaffairs.gov.in.

*****
Lok Sabha Question No. 78 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Cyber Attack
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: SHARAD TRIPATHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.78

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 18 TH  JULY, 2018

## CYBER  ATTACK

## 78. SHRI SHARAD TRIPATHI:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE j{kk ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  paid  attention  towards  rise  in  cyber  attacks  in defence sector during the recent years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government  has taken adequate steps to protect confidential information pertaining to the defence sector from cyber attack; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE

IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

र  ा रा य मं ी

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

(a) to (d): Yes  Madam,  the  overall  threat  to  cyber  space  has  increased though  no  cyber  attacks  on  defence  establishments  has  been  reported during the recent years.  There have been reports of individual / home PCs being  targeted  by  malware  /  malicious  software.    Further,  the  classified information of the tri services are well guarded.  To mitigate cyber threats all  the  three  Services  have established their respective Cyber Emergency Response Teams (CERT).  Adequate safeguards have been instituted in the form  of  Cyber  Audits,  Physical  Checks  and  Policy  Guidelines  to  ensure a robust cyber posture of armed forces.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 77 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Complaints of Tampering of EVMs
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI

## 77. श्री बी . विनोद कु मारः

क्या विवध और न्याय मंत्री यह बताने की कृ पा करेंगे ककः

- ( क ) क्या चुनाि अयोग को राजवनवतक दलों द्वारा इिीएम मशीनों के साथ छेड़छाड़ करने के संबंध में कोइ वशकायतें प्राप्त हुइ हैं और यकद हां , तो तत्संबंधी ब्यौरा क्या है ;
- ( ख ) क्या चुनाि अयोग का प्रस्ताि भविष्य में होने िाले सभी चुनािों को िीिीपैट से सुसवित इिीएम मशीनों द्वारा अयोवजत करने की योजना है या पुरानी प्रणाली का ईपयोग करते हुए मत पत्रों के माध्यम से चुनाि कराने की योजना है ;
- ( ग ) क्या अयोग कैं विज एनावलटटका के मामले की तरह अंकड़ों की चोरी को रोकने के वलए सामावजक मीविया मंच हेतु अचार संवहता पर कायय कर रहा हैं ;
- ( घ ) यकद हां , तो तत्संबधी ब्यौरा क्या है ; और
- ( ङ ) यकद नहीं तो आसके क्या कारण हैं ?

## भारत सरकार

विवध और न्याय मंत्रालय विधायी विभाग लोक सभा ऄतारांककत प्रश्न सं . 77

वजसका ईत्तर बुधिार ,18 जुलाइ , 2018 को कदया जाना है

## इिीएम मशीनों के साथ छेड़ -छाड़ संबधी वशकायतें

## ईत्तर

## विवध और न् याय तथा कारपोरेट कायय राज्य मंत्री ( श्री पी . पी . चौधरी )

( क ) से ( ङ )

:

सूचना एकवत्रत की जा रही है और सदन के पटल पर रख दी जाएगी ।

*****************************
Lok Sabha Question No. 75 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Charge/Fee for Issuance of Aadhaar Card
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: RAM TAHAL CHOUDHARY, MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 75

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## CHARGE/FEE FOR ISSUANCE OF AADHAAR CARD

## 75. SHRI  RAM  TAHAL  CHOUDHARY SHRI  MANSUKHBHAI  DHANJIBHAI  VASAVA:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any charge/fee is levied by the Government for issuing Aadhaar Card and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has increased the charges for issuing Aadhaar Card and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the steps proposed to be taken by the Government to reduce the said charges?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR  ELECTRONICS AND  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI S. S. AHLUWALIA)

- (a) to (c): No Sir. Enrolment of Aadhaar is free for residents.

For Aadhaar update and other services, Registrars and Service Providers of Unique Identification  Authority  of  India  (UIDAI)  collect  nominal  fee  as  per  Annexure enclosed.

******
Lok Sabha Question No. 74 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Wadsa-Gadchiroli Rail Network
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 74

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018

## WADSA-GADCHIROLI RAIL NETWORK

## †74.     SHRI ASHOK MAHADEORAO NETE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  provisions  were  made  in  the  Rail  Budget  2011-12  to connect  the  district  headquarters  of  Gadchiroli  and  Chimur  with Wadsa-Gadchiroli rail network in Maharashtra;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  construction  of  Wadsa-Gadchiroli  rail  network  has started and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)
- (e)
- if not, the reasons for delay in this regard; and
- the time by which the said work is likely to be completed?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

- (a) &  (b):  Wadsa-Gadchiroli  new  rail  line  project  was  sanctioned  in 2011-12 on 50:50 cost sharing basis between Ministry of Railways and  the  State  Govt.  of  Maharashtra.  In  Wadsa-Gadchiroli  new Railway Line project, there is provision of connectivity with Gadchiroli  but  there  is  no  such  provision  of  connectivity  with Chimur.

- (c) & (d) Work of Wadsa yard remodeling part of Wadsa-Gadchiroli project has been completed and commissioned in July 2017. Further construction work of Wadsa-Gadchiroli new  line project will be taken up after 100% acquisition of land.

(e) Every Railway project requires a number of clearances from various Ministries and Departments of State/Central Governments. These, interalia,  include  clearances  inherent  to  land  acquisition,  forestry  and permission for crossing from departments  like National  Highway Authority  of  India,  Public  Works  Department,  Irrigation  canals  etc. which are part of project execution. Process of seeking the approvals/clearances and land acquisition are some of the main factors that affect the pace of completion of the projects. Therefore, no time frame for completion of this project has been fixed.

*****