Lok Sabha Question No. 46 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-07
Subject: Railway Connectivity in Hilly Areas
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 46 TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.12.2022

## RAILWAY CONNECTIVITY IN HILLY AREAS

- †46.  SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  total  quantum  of  investment  made  by  Railways  in  NorthEastern States to interlink the capitals of eight States in view of the  fact  that,  it  is  not  easy  to  provide  railway  services  in  the hilly areas;
- (b) if  so,  the  number  of  rail  lines  converted  into  double  lines, electrified and the new railway lines laid till date, State-wise;
- (c) the plan envisaged by the Government to inter-link the capitals of the eight States of North-East;
- (d) whether any time limit has been fixed in this regard; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 46 BY SHRI DILIP SAIKIA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 07.12.2022 REGARDING RAILWAY CONNECTIVITY IN HILLY AREAS

(a) to (c): Railway  projects  are  sanctioned  and  taken  up  Zonal  Railwaywise  and  not  State-wise/  District-wise/  Union  Territory-wise,  as  Indian Railways'  projects  may  span  across  State/  Union  Territory  boundaries. Further, State Capitals of Assam  (Guwahati), Tripura (Agartala) and Arunachal Pradesh (Itanagar) have been connected with Broad Gauge (BG) Rail  network  of  Indian  Railways.  In  Arunachal  Pradesh,  a  BG  railway  line has  been  commissioned  upto  Naharlagun,  which  is  a  suburban  city  of Itanagar (distance between Itanagar-Naharlagun is 10 km).

For capital connectivity of remaining 5 States of North Eastern Region -  Meghalaya  (Shillong),  Manipur  (Imphal),  Nagaland  (Kohima),  Mizoram (Aizawl) and Sikkim (Gangtok), Railway has taken up New Line projects as detailed below:

- (1) Jiribam - Imphal (111 km) new line project.
- (2) Bhairabi - Sairang (51 km) new line project.
- (3) Dimapur (Dhansiri) -  Zubza (Kohima) (82 km) new line project.
- (4) Sivok - Rangpo (44 km) new line project.
- (5)  Tetelia  -  Byrnihat  (22  km)  new  line  project  and  Byrnihat  -  Shillong (108 km) new line project.

New Line and Doubling projects falling fully/ partly in North Eastern Region  are  covered  in  Northeast  Frontier  Railway  (NFR)  Zone  of  Indian Railways. Zone-wise details of Railway projects including cost, 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)  >Rail Budget/Pink Book (Year)> Railway wise Works Machinery and Rolling Stock

Programme.

During 2014-22, 1544 km (377 km New line, 972 km Gauge conversion and 195 km Doubling) sections, falling fully/partly in North Eastern Region, have been commissioned at an average rate of 193 km per year, which is 190%  more  than  average  annual  commissioning  achieved  during  2009-14 (66.6 km per year).

(upto 31.10.2022)

| SN    | State             |   Route Kilometre Broad Gauge Electrified |   Total Broad Gauge Route Kilometre |
|-------|-------------------|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 1.    | Arunachal Pradesh |                                         0 |                                  12 |
| 2.    | Assam             |                                       516 |                                2518 |
| 3.    | Manipur           |                                         0 |                                  13 |
| 4.    | Meghalaya         |                                         0 |                                   9 |
| 5.    | Mizoram           |                                         0 |                                   2 |
| 6.    | Nagaland          |                                         0 |                                  11 |
| 7.    | Sikkim            |                                         0 |                                   0 |
| 8.    | Tripura           |                                         0 |                                 265 |
| Total | Total             |                                       516 |                                2830 |

Various steps being taken by the Railways for effective and speedy implementation  of  rail projects include (i) setting up  of Gati  Shakti Directorate  in  Ministry  of  Railways  and  Gati  Shakti  Units  in  Divisions  (ii) prioritization of projects  (iii) substantial increase in allocation of funds on priority projects (iv) delegation of powers at field level (v) close monitoring of  progress  of  projects  at  various  levels,  and  (vi)  regular  follow  up  with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition, forestry and Wildlife clearances and for resolving other issues pertaining to projects.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in budget allotment for infrastructure projects. Average annual Budget allocation for infrastructure  projects  and  safety  works,  falling  fully/  partly  in  the  North Eastern Region, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to ₹ 5,531 crore per year from ₹ 2,122  crore  per  year  during  2009-14,  which  is  161%  more  than average annual Budget allocation during 2009-14. These allocations have been increased to ₹ 4,909 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (131% more than the average annual Budget allocation of 2009-14), ₹ 4,669 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (120% more than the average annual Budget allocation  of  2009-14)  and ₹ 7,542  crore  in  Financial  Year  2021-22  (255% more than the average annual Budget allocation of 2009-14). For Financial Year  2022-23,  highest  ever  budget  allocation  of ₹ 9,970  crore  has  been provided for these projects, which is 370% more than the average annual Budget allocation of 2009-14 ( ₹ 2,122 crore per year).

(d) and (e):  Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various  authorities,  geological  and  topographical  conditions  of  area,  law and order situation in the area of project/s site, number of working months in  a  year for  particular  project site due to climatic conditions etc. and all these  factors  affect  the  completion  time  of  the  project/s.    With  above constraints, every effort is being made to execute the project/s expeditiously.

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