Lok Sabha Question No. 947 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Ongoing/Pending Railway Projects in Odisha
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Ramesh Chandra Majhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 947 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2023

## ONGOING/PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN ODISHA

947. SHRI RAMESH CHANDRA MAJHI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the ongoing and pending railway projects in the country especially in Odisha including Nabarangpur Parliamentary Constituency, project/area-wise;
- (b) the details of target fixed during the current year for development of new lines/gauge conversion/ doubling project in Odisha;
- (c) the  steps  taken  by  the  Railways  to  speed  up  these  pending railway projects in Odisha;
- (d) the number of projects out of the above that are lagging behind the schedule; and
- (e) the time by which these projects are likely to be completed?

## 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.  947  BY  SHRI  RAMESH  CHANDRA MAJHI TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.02.2023 REGARDING ONGOING/PENDING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN ODISHA

(a) to (e): The Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise/Parliamentary Constituencywise as the Railways' projects may spans across State boundaries.

As on 01.04.2022, across Indian Railways, 452 Railway Infrastructure projects (183 New Line, 42 Gauge Conversion and 227 Doubling) of total length 49,323 Km, costing approx. ` 7.33 lakh crore are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution, out of which, 11,518  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of approx. ` 2.35 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

## Odisha:

As on 01.04.2022, 35 Railway Infrastructure Projects (11 New Lines, 1  Gauge  Conversion  and  23  Doubling)  of  total  length  4,609  Km, costing ` 55,759 crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  Odisha  including  those falling  fully/partly  in  Nabarangpur  Parliamentary  Constituency  are under different stages of planning/approval/execution, out of which, 1039  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 21,729 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

Odisha  is  covered  by  East  Coast  Railway,  South  Eastern  Railway and  South  East  Central  Railway  zones  of  Indian  Railway.  Zonal Railway 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.

The  completion  of  any  Railway  project(s)  depends  on  various factors  like  quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest clearance by officials of forest department, deposition of cost share by 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. and all these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project(s), which is finally worked out at the completion stage. With above constraints,  every  effort  is  being  made  to  execute  the  project(s) expeditiously.

Various  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  for  effective  and speedy implementation of rail projects include (i) setting up of Gati Shakti units (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 project 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. This has led to substantial increase in rate of commissioning since 2014.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in fund allocation and  commensurate  commissioning  of  Projects.  Average  Annual Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects & safety works, falling fully/  partly  in  State  of  Odisha,  during  2014-19  has  been  enhanced to ` 4,126  crore  per  year  from ` 838  crore  per  year  during  2009-14, which  is  392%  more  than  the  Average  Annual  Budget allocation ..P/3

during  2009-14.   These  allocations  have  been increased  to ` 4,568 crore  in  Financial  Year  2019-20  (445%  more  than  the  Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14), ` 5,296 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (532% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14)  and ` 6,471  crore  for  Financial  Year  2021-22  (672%  more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14). For Financial Year 2022-23, highest ever Budget outlay of ` 9,734 crore has been provided for these projects, which is 1062% more than the Average Annual Budget outlay of 2009-14 ( ` 838 crore per year).

During  2009-14,  267  km  sections  (56  km  New  line,  83  km  Gauge conversion and 128 km Doubling), falling fully/partly in the State of Odisha, have been commissioned at an average rate of 53.40 km per year.  These commissioning, during 2014-22 has been increased to 1135 km (264 km New line and 871km  Doubling), at an average rate of  141.88  km  per  year,  which  is  166%  more  than  average  annual commissioning achieved during 2009-14 (53.40 km/year).

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