Lok Sabha Question No. 2959 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-08-03
Subject: Development of Railway infrastructure in West Bengal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Khan Saumitra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2959 TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.08.2022

## DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN WEST BENGAL

2959. SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  current  projects  underway  for  the  development  of  railway infrastructure in West Bengal;
- (b) the total allocation of budget towards developing Railways in West Bengal  along  with  the  projects proposed,  total funds  allocated, expected project outcomes and the expected year of completion;
- (c) the total  budget  allocated for various projects and  for the development project of the Eastern Railway zone;
- (d) whether the Railways has received cooperation from the Government of West Bengal; and
- (e) if so, the details in this regard?

## 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.

*****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2959 BY SHRI  SAUMITRA KHAN TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 03.08.2022 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IN WEST BENGAL (a)  to  (e)  :  Railway  projects  are  sanctioned  and  executed  Zonal Railway wise and not State wise as Railway projects may span across State boundaries. However, as on 01.04.2022, 50 Railway projects (16 new lines,  04  gauge  conversions  and  30  doublings),  costing ₹ 51,645 crore, covering total length of 4,365 Km, falling fully/partly in the State of West Bengal are in different stages of planning/approval/execution, out  of  which  2,065  Km  length  have  been  commissioned  and  an expenditure of ₹ 20,974 crore has been incurred upto March'22. Railway Infrastructure Projects in the state of West Bengal is covered by Eastern Railway (ER), South Eastern Railway (SER) and Northeast Frontier  Railway  (NFR)  Zones  of  Indian  Railways.    The  project-wise details including  cost, expenditure and outlay are  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)>Pink Book (year)>Railways-wise  Works,  Machinery  &  Rolling  Stock  Programme (RSP). Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in Budget allocation and commensurate commissioning of projects. Average Annual Budget allocation  for  Infrastructure  projects  &  safety  works,  falling  fully/ partly in the State of West Bengal, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to ₹ 4,612  crore  per  year  from ₹ 4,380  crore  per  year  during  2009-14, which is 5% more than Average Annual Budget allocation during 200914. These allocations have been increased to ₹ 5,033 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (15% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of

2009-14), ₹ 5,246 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (20% more than the Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  of  2009-14)  and ₹ 6,988  crore  in Financial  Year  2021-22  (60%  more  than  the  Average  Annual  Budget Outlay  of  2009-14).  For  Financial  Year  2022-23,  highest  ever  Budget outlay of ₹ 10,262 crore has been provided for these projects, which is 134% more than the Average Annual Budget Outlay of 2009-14 ( ₹ 4,380 crore per year). Completion  of  any  Railway  project/s  depends  on  various  factors  like cooperation of  State  Governments in  quick  land acquisition,  forestry 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.    All  these  factors  affect the completion time of the project/s. With these constraints, Railways are making all efforts to complete these projects at the earliest. During  2014-22,  998  km  sections  (88  km  new  line,  151  km  Gauge conversion  and  759  km  doubling)  falling  fully/partly  in  West  Bengal have been commissioned at an average rate 124.75 km per year. *****