Lok Sabha Question No. 2714 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-04
Subject: New Railway Projects in Bihar
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Sanjay Jaiswal, Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2714 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2021

## NEW RAILWAY PROJECTS IN BIHAR

2714. DR.  SANJAY JAISWAL SHRI  JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the present status of various ongoing/pending railway projects in Bihar;
- (b) the steps taken by the Railways to complete the said projects in a time bound manner;
- (c)  whether the Government of Bihar has proposed to bear some cost of the said projects for their timely completion and if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Railways thereto;
- (d)  the  number  of  railway  projects  in  Bihar  for  which  survey  has  been conducted and approved but for which work is not underway as yet;
- (e) if so, the details thereof;
- (f) the efforts made by the Government to speed up the work of approved railway projects in Bihar;
- (g) whether any timeline has been fixed for completion of these projects; and
- (h) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

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

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (h) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  2714  BY  DR.  SANJAY  JAISWAL  AND  SHRI  JANARDAN SINGH  SIGRIWAL  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  04.08.2021 REGARDING ONGOING RAILWAY PROJECTS IN BIHAR

(a), (d) and (e):   Railway projects are sanctioned Zonal Railway wise and not  State-wise  as  Indian  Railways'  network  spans  across  various  State boundaries.    However,  as  on  01.04.2021,  57  projects  (35  new  lines,  05 gauge conversions and 17 doublings), of total length of 5267 Km costing ₹ 76,137  crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  the  State  of  Bihar  are  in  different stages  of  planning/approval/execution,  out  of  which  1348  Km  length  has been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ₹ 25,380  crore  has  been incurred upto March, 2021. These include:

35  new  lines  projects  covering  a  total  length  of  2,962  km,  costing ₹ 53,773 crore,  out  of  which,  497  Km  length  has  been  commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 15,710 crore has been incurred upto March'21.

5  gauge  conversion  projects  covering  a  total  length  of  1,018  km, costing ₹ 6,188 crore, out of which, 780 Km  length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 4,516 crore has been incurred upto March'21.

17  doubling  projects  covering  a  total    length  of  1,287  km,  costing ₹ 16176 crore, out of which, 71 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of ₹ 5,154 crore has been incurred upto March'21.

Average  annual  Budget  allocation  for  infrastructure  and  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  outlay  of  2009-14  and  budget outlay  of ₹ 4,489 crore  was  provided  for  these  projects  for  financial  year

2020-21 which is 297% more than average annual budget outlay of 200914. For financial year 2021-22, highest-ever budget outlay of ₹ 5,150 crore has been provided for these works, which is 355% more with respect to average annual budget outlay of 2009-14.

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/year,  which  is 117% more than the commissioning during 2009-14 (63.6 Km/year).

State of Bihar is covered by East Central Railway (ECR), Eastern Railway (ER),  North  Eastern  Railway  (NER)  and  Northeast  Frontier  Railway  (NFR) Zone 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).

- (c):    Government  of  Bihar  has  not  proposed  to  bear  cost  of  any  ongoing railway project

(b) and (f):   Railways have taken up various steps for effective and speedy implementation of rail projects which include (i) prioritisation of projects, (ii) substantial increase in allocation of funds, (iii) delegation of powers at field level, (iv) close monitoring of progress of project at various levels (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.

(g) and (h): Completion of any Railway project/s depends on various factors like  quick  land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  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 vary from project to project and affect the completion time of the project/s.  As such, no confirmed timeline of completion of the project/s can be ascertained at this stage. Nevertheless, Railways are making all efforts to complete these projects at the earliest.

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