Lok Sabha Question No. 4499 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-30
Subject: Rail connectivity with mining Districts
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Rahul Ramesh Shewale, Girish Bhalchandra Bapat, Pritam Gopinath Munde

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4499 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2022

## RAIL CONNECTIVITY WITH MINING DISTRICTS

## 4499.    SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE:

SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  is  mapping  the  mining  districts  across  the country to connect them with rail network in a bid to bite into a bigger slice of the freight transportation pie;
- (b) if so, the details  of  the  plan  prepared  therefor,  State-wise, particularly in Maharashtra;
- (c) the details of the survey approved so far by the Union Government in this regard;
- (d)  the  details  of  the  products  which  Railways  intends  to  transport  at competitive pricing;
- (e) the source of funding of these lines; and
- (f) the steps taken by the Government to complete these lines without delay?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(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. 4499 BY SHRI RAHUL RAMESH SHEWALE, SHRI GIRISH BHALCHANDRA BAPAT AND DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 30.03.2022 REGARDING RAIL CONNECTIVITY WITH MINING DISTRICTS (a)  to  (c)  Providing  Rail  connectivity  to  mining  areas/clusters  and conducting surveys are ongoing process in Indian Railways. Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and not district wise as projects may span across various State boundaries. As on 01.04.2021, across Indian Railways, 187 New line projects of 21,037 Km length are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution, out of which commissioning of 2,621 Km length has been achieved. Presently, 165 numbers  of  surveys  of  new  lines  have  been  taken  up  across  the country.  The  construction  of  new  lines  will  enhance  connectivity  to mining areas also.  Moreover, Indian Railways has prepared a National Rail Plan (NRP) which aims to create capacities ahead of demand to meet not only the periodical demand but also annual growth in traffic. Indian  Railways  has  also  undertaken  the  construction  of  Dedicated Freight Corridors to enhance the capacities for higher freight transportation  including  minerals.  Many  of  the  above  projects  will cater to mineral movement from and to the State of Maharashtra. (d)  Railways is already transporting a large number of commodities on competitive  pricing  such  as  coal,  iron  ore,  lime  stone,  cement, fertilizers, food, steel, automobiles, general cargo, petroleum products etc.

(e)  Major  source  of  funding  of  railway  projects  are  Gross  Budgetary Resources,  Extra  Budgetary  Resources  (EBR)  such  as  those  from Institutional Financing, Public Private Partnership (PPP), Joint Venture (JV), Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) etc. (f) Various steps are being taken by the Government for effective and speedy  implementation  of  rail  projects  such  as  (i)  prioritisation  of projects  (ii)  substantial  increase  in  allocation  of    funds  on  priority projects (iii) delegation of powers at field level (iv) close monitoring of progress  of  project  at  various  levels,  and  (v)  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.

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