Lok Sabha Question No. 2169 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-03-04
Subject: Doubling of Vijayawada-Bhimavaram Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru, Balashowry Vallabbhaneni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2169 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.03.2020

## DOUBLING OF VIJAYAWADA-BHIMAVARAM RAILWAY LINE

2169. SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHANA RAJU: SHRI BALASHOWRY VALLABHANENI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways has taken note of the fact that the doubling of Vijayawada-Gudivada-Bhimavaram-Narasapur- MachilipatnaBhimavaram-Nidadavol  new  Railway  line  which  is  lagging  behind schedule time due to shortage of funds;
- (b) if so, the details of project cost, allocation made, the time when it was conceived, time and cost overrun if any, and the present status of the project;
- (c) whether the Railways has allocated any funds to this project in the ensuing railway budget; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2169 BY SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHANA RAJU AND  SHRI  BALASHOWRY  VALLABHANENI  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK SABHA ON 04.03.2020 REGARDING DOUBLING OF VIJAYAWADABHIMAVARAM RAILWAY LINE (a)  and  (b)  The  project  was  included  in  Budget  2011-2012.  Railway  has taken up Vijayawada-Gudivada-Bhimavaram-Narasapur, GudivadaMachilipatnam  and  Bhimavaram-Nidadavolu  (221  km)  doubling  project. Project  is  on  cost  sharing  basis  with  Govt.  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  in  which Govt. of Andhra Pradesh is sharing 50% cost of Project. Anticipated cost of the  project  is ₹ 2500 crore.  and  an  expenditure  of ₹ 1848 crore  has  been incurred  on  the  project.  The  original  budget  allotment  for  2019-20  was ₹ 175 crore, which has been further increased to ₹ 776 crore. 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, 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. and all these factors vary from project to project and site to site and affect the completion time and cost of the project. As such, firm completion time of the projects cannot be fixed at this stage.

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(c) and (d) An outlay of ₹ 1158 crore has been proposed for financial year 2020-21 for this project. Work has been taken up on the project. Out of 221 km project length, 58 km (40 km long Moturu-Akividu section and 18 km long Akividu-Bhimavaram section) has been commissioned during 2019-20.

Budget Allocation(for the project falling fully/partly in Andhra Pradesh):

Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  and  safety works,  falling  fully/partly  in  Andhra  Pradesh  during  2014-19  has  been increased to 2830 crore per year during 2014-2019 from ₹ 886 crore per year during 2009-14 which is 219%  more than average annual allocation of 2009-14.

Total allocation of Budget for Infrastructure projects & safety works falling fully/ partly in State of Andhra Pradesh, in 2019-20 is 3885 crore which is 338% more than the average annual allocation of 2009-14.

Commissioning of projects:

During 2009-14, 363 Km (81 Km of New line, 144 Km of Gauge Conversion and 138 Km of Doubling projects) have been commissioned in the state at an average rate 72.6 km per year.

In 2014-19, 377 Km (258 Km of New Line and 119 Km of Doubling projects) have been commissioned in the state at an average rate 75.3 Km per year. Thus, the commissioning  during 2014-19 was 4% more than during 200914.

For the above said project, an amount of around ₹ 412 crore is outstanding towards State Government share. Also for all the cost sharing projects in Andhra Pradesh, around ₹ 1411 crore is outstanding towards State Government  share.  The  timely  deposition  of  State  Government  share  is essential for quick execution of projects.

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