Lok Sabha Question No. 1029 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-08
Subject: Ongoing Railway Projects in Tamil Nadu
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: DNV Senthilkumar. S.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1029 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.02.2023

## ONGOING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

1029. DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR S. :

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) the  details  and  the  present  status  of  ongoing  railway  projects    in  the State  of  Tamil  Nadu  during  the  last  five  years  and  the  details  of  the railway projects   announced in the last five years Union Budget for the State of Tamil Nadu that have not been taken up for execution so far, project-wise, along with the reasons therefor;

(b) the  details  of  the  funds  allocated/spent  along  with  the  funds  lying unspent for the said projects during the last three years, project- wise, along with the reasons for unspent funds;

- (c) the reasons for the delay in timely completion of these projects;   and

(d) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  in  this  regard  and to avoid further escalation of cost of these projects?

ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1029 BY SHRI DR. DNV SENTHILKUMAR S. TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.02.2023 REGARDING ONGOING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN TAMIL NADU

(a) to (d): Railway projects are sanctioned and taken up Zonal Railway-wise and not State-wise as the Indian Railways' projects may span across various State  boundaries.  However,  as  on  01.04.2022,  24  Railways  infrastructures projects (09 new line, 04 Gauge conversion and 11 doubling) of total length 2,944 Km, costing ` 30,692 crore, falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu including  those  announced  in  last  five  years  are  in  different  stages  of planning/sanctioning/  execution,  out  of  which  804  Km  length  has  been commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 7,705  crore  has  been  incurred  upto March, 2022. These include:-

-  09 New Line Projects of total length 871 Km, costing ` 10,724 crore, out of which 18 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 685 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.
-  04  Gauge  Conversion  Projects  of  total  length  839  Km,  costing ` 5,778 crore,  out  of  which  622  Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an expenditure of ` 3,179 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.
-  11  Doubling  Projects  of  total  length  1,234  Km,  costing ` 14,190  crore, out of which 164 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ` 3,841 crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

Total 10 projects (01 new line and 09 doubling) of total length 908 Km falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu has been announced/included in the Budget during last five years i.e. 2017-18 to 2021-22 and current Financial

Year i.e. 2022-23.

Railway infrastructure projects falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu are covered under Southern Railway (SR), South Central Railway (SCR) and  South  Western  Railway  (SWR)  zone  of  Indian  Railways.  Zone-wise  and Year-wise  details  of  all  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 >Rail Budget/Pink  Book  (Year)>  Railway  wise  Works  Machinery  and  Rolling  Stock

Indian Railways >Railway Board Directorates >Finance (Budget) Programme.

Since 2014, there has been substantial increase in fund allocation for infrastructure and safety work Projects and commensurate commissioning of Projects in Indian Railways.

The  Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  for  infrastructure  projects  and safety  works  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  during  2014-19 increased to ` 1,979  crore  per  year  from ` 879  crore per  year  during 2009 14 (125%  more  than average annual budget allocation during 2009-14). The Annual  Budget  allocation  on  these  projects  increased  to ` 2,410  crore  in Financial  Year  2019-20  (174%  more  than  average  annual  budget  allocation during 2009-14), ` 2,812 crore in Financial Year 2020-21 (220% more than the Average  Annual  Budget  allocation  during  2009-14)  and ` 3,730  crore  for Financial  year  2021-22(324%  more  than  average  annual  budget  allocation during  2009-14).  For  Financial  Year  2022-23,  highest-ever  budget  outlay  of ` 3,865  crore  has  been  provided  for  these  works,  which  is  340%  more  than average annual budget outlay of 2009-14.

During  2014-22,  1,066  Km  sections  (18  Km  New  line,  404  Km  Gauge conversion and 644 Km Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Tamil Nadu has been commissioned at an average rate 133.25 km per year.

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, 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 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 Shakit Directorate  in  Ministry  of  Railways  &  Gati  Shakti  Units  in  divisions  (ii) prioritisation  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.

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