Lok Sabha Question No. 3753 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Railway Projects in Kerala
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Abdul Majeed Ariff

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3753 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019

## RAILWAY PROJECTS IN KERALA

3753.   ADV. A.M. ARIFF:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS  be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of ongoing railway projects in Kerala;
- (b) the present status of doubling of Kayamkulam-Ernakulam coastal railway line;
- (c) the time by which the doubling work is likely to be completed;
- (d) the  amount  allocated  for  this  work  by  the  Railways  during  the last three years;
- (e) whether any State has come with an agreement of 50 per cent share in land acquisition; and
- (f) if  not,  the  reasons  why the Railways is pushing this demand to the State of Kerala?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (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.  3753  BY  ADV.  A.M.  ARIFF  TO  BE ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  11.12.2019  REGARDING  RAILWAY PROJECTS IN KERALA

(a) to (d): Presently, 09 projects (02 new line and 07 doubling) covering a length of 454 Km, costing 8,317 crore, falling fully/partly in Kerala, are  under  different  stages  of  planning/approval/execution.    Details  of these projects are as under:

02  New  Line  Projects  are  covering  a  length  of  146  km  costing 3,293  crore.  An  expenditure  of 299  crore  has  been  incurred upto March, 2019.

07  Doubling  Projects  are  covering  a  length  of  307  km  costing 5,024  crore,  out  of  which,  8  Km  length  has  been  commissioned and an expenditure of 671  crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March, 2019. An outlay of 265 crore has been provided for these projects for the year 2019-20.

The  project-wise  details  of  projects  including  expenditure  and outlay 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)>Railway-wise  Works  Machinery  &  Rolling  Stock  Programme Regular Budget (year).

Average  Budget  Allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  &  safety works,  falling  fully/partly  in  State  of  Kerala,  for  2014-19  is 950 crore, which is 255% of the average annual Budget outlay of 2009-14 ( 372 crore).

During 2014-19, 89 km length has been commissioned which is 168% of commissioning achieved during 2009-14 (53 Km).

Route-wise status of doubling on Ernakulam-Kayankulam line is as under:-

## I. Doubling via Kottayam route

On  this  route  (  Route  length  114.6  Km),  doubling  from    ErnakulamKuruppantara  (41.37  Km),  Chengannur-Changanaseri  (16.5  Km)  & Chengannur-Kayankulam  (20.19  Km)    totalling  78.06  Km    has    been commissioned. Work on balance portion taken up.

## II. Doubling via Alappuzha route

On this route (Route length 100.33 Km), doubling of HaripadKayankulam (13.04 Km) has been commissioned. Work on Ambalapuzha-Haripad doubling (18.13 Km) has been taken up.

In view of considerable increase in project cost due to abnormal rise in cost of land for Ernakulam-Kumbalam (7.71 Km) and KumbalamTuravur    (15.59  Km)  and  Turavur-Ambalapuzha  (45.86  Km)  doubling projects, Government of Kerala has been requested for their consent to share 50% cost of  Ernakulam-Kumbalam doubling and KumbalamTuravur  doubling  and  provide  land  free  of  cost  and  share  50%  of construction  cost  for  Turavur-Ambalapuzha  doubling  projects  which, however,  has not been agreed  by the State Government.

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, 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 affect the completion of the project. Therefore, confirmed timeline for completion of these projects cannot be given.

(e): Yes, Sir. A number of State Governments have given their consent for  sharing  50%  cost  of  the  projects  and  also  100%  land  free  along with 50% cost of construction.

(f): Does not arise.

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