Lok Sabha Question No. 2486 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-16
Subject: Construction of Dehri-Banjari Railway Line
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Mahabali Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2486 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2022

## CONSTRUCTION OF DEHRI-BANJARI RAILWAY LINE

†2486. SHRI MAHABALI SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the proposal for the construction of Dehri-Banjari railway line and  Bhabua,  Mundeshwari,  Aurangabad,  Bihta  railway  line  under  Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya division of East Central Railways is under consideration of the Government;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the current status thereof; and
- (c) the time by which it is likely to be finalized and the reasons for delay, if any?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  2486  BY  SHRI  MAHABALI  SINGH  TO  BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 16.03.2022 REGARDING CONSTRUCTION OF DEHRI-BANJARI RAILWAY LINE

(a) to (c): Yes, Sir. Dehri-On-Sone-Banjari, Ara-Bhabhua Road-Mundeshwari Dham and Bihata-Aurangabad railway line are sanctioned projects. Status of these projects is as under:-

- (i) Dehri-On-Sone-Banjari (35 Km) New Line Project:- This project was sanctioned in the year 2008-09. Anticipated cost of the project is ₹ 1003 crore.  Final  Location  Survey  (FLS)  for  this  project  has  been  completed. Land acquisition process for the project has been taken up.
- (ii) Ara-Bhabhua Road-Mundeshwari Dham New Rail Line Project:- AraBhabua Road 125 Km long  new rail line project and Material Modifiaction of Bhabhua Road-Mundeshwari Dham (26 Km) new line was sanctioned in the  year  2008-09.  Anticipated  cost  of  project  is ₹ 2397  crore.  Final Location Survey (FLS) has been taken up.
- (iii) Bihta-Aurangabad (120 Km) new railway line: Bihta-Aurangabad new line project was included in Budget 2007-08. Detailed Estimate and Survey Report of the work has been prepared. As per survey report, the project has been found to be financially unviable and not much of freight traffic has  been  anticipated  to  move  on  this  line,  as  such  the  project  has  not been prioritized, presently.

Completion of any Railway project/s depends on various factors like quick land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forestry  clearance  by  officials  of forest department, deposition of State share by the State Government in cost sharing projects, 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. As such, no firm time-line for completion of the project/s can be given at this stage. Nevertheless, Railways are making all efforts to complete these projects at the earliest.

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 State of Bihar, during 2014-19 has been enhanced to ₹ 3,061 crore per year from ₹ 1,132  crore  per  year  during  2009-14,  which  is  170%  more  than Average Annual Budget allocation during 2009-14. These allocations have been increased to ₹ 4,093 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (262% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14) and ₹ 4,489  crore  in  Financial  Year  2020-21  (297%  more  than  the  Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14). For Financial Year 2021-22, highest ever  budget  outlay  of ₹ 5,560  crore  {Original  Budget  Outlay  (BE) ₹ 5150 crore  and  additional  allotment ₹ 410  crore}  has  been  provided  for  these projects, which is 391% more than the Average Annual Budget Outlay of 2009-14 ( ₹ 1,132 crore per year).

During  2014-21,  968  Km  length  (317  Km  New  Lines,  345  Km  Gauge Conversion and 306 Km Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Bihar has been commissioned at an average rate of 138.29 Km per year, which is 117% more than the commissioning during 2009-14 (63.6 Km per year).

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