Lok Sabha Question No. 1829 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-27
Subject: Laying New Railway Lines in Rajasthan
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan, Hanuman Beniwal, Balak Nath

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1829 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.07.2022

## LAYING NEW RAILWAY LINES IN RAJASTHAN

†

1829.  SHRI NIHAL CHAND: SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL: SHRI BALAK NATH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Union Government proposes to lay new rail lines in various parts of the country including Rajasthan;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  number  of  proposals from Rajasthan related to new rail line projects lying pending with the Government  after the completion of survey by declaring them economically non-viable, project-wise;
- (c) whether the Government is contemplating to carry out/restart the construction on the Gajsinghpur-Padampur-BinjhbaylaGoluwala-Hanumangadh-Rawatsar-Nohar which was announced in the year 1998 and Alwar-Narnaul via Behror rail line project in the State of Rajasthan;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  for  laying  of  new railway lines in Rajasthan during the current financial year; and
- (f) if so, the details in this regard?

## 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. *****

STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (f)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1829  BY  SHRI  NIHAL  CHAND,  SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL AND SHRI BALAK NATH TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK  SABHA  ON  27.07.2022  REGARDING  LAYING  NEW  RAILWAY LINES IN RAJASTHAN

(a),  (b),  (e)  &  (f):  Yes,  Sir.  The  Railway  projects  are  surveyed/ sanctioned  Zonal  Railway  wise  and  not  State/UT-wise  as  the Railways'  projects  may  span  across  State/UT  boundaries.  As  on 01.04.2022,  across  Indian  Railways  including  Rajasthan,  183  New Line projects of total length of 20,937 km, costing approx. ` 4.0 lakh crore are in different stages of planning/sanction/execution, out of which, 2,831 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of approx. ` 1.13 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2022.

As on 01.04.2022, 11 New Line projects of total length of 1,228 km, costing ` 16,942  crore,  falling  fully/partly  in  Rajasthan  are  under different stages of planning/ approval/ execution, out of which 107 Km  length  has  been  commissioned  and  an  expenditure  of ` 2,695 crore  has  been  incurred  upto  March,  2022.  Railway  projects  in Rajasthan  are  covered  in  North  Western  Railway  (NWR),  North Central  Railway  (NCR),  Northern  Railway  (NR),  Western  Railway (WR) zone of Indian Railways.

Zone 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 (RSP).

New line projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations  etc.  depending  upon  throw  forward  of  ongoing projects,  overall  availability  of  funds  and  competing  demands. Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared for all projects including those in Rajasthan which are found feasible after survey. Projects are appraised based on parameters brought out in DPR. After firming up  of  various  parameters,  further  sanctioning  of  project  requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog., approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs etc. Sanctioning of projects is a continuous process.

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  Rajasthan,  during  2014-19  has  been enhanced to ` 2,951 crore per year from ` 682 crore per year during 2009-14, which is 333% more than Average Annual Budget allocation  during  2009-14.  These  allocations  have  increased  to ` 4,686 crore in Financial Year 2019-20 (587% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14), ` 4,582 crore in Financial Year 2020-21(572% more than the Average Annual Budget allocation of 2009-14)  and ` 6,006  crore  for  Financial  Year  2021-22  (781%  more than  the  Average  Annual  Budget  outlay  of  2009-14).  For  Financial Year 2022-23,  highest  ever  Budget outlay of ` 7,565 crore has been

provided for these projects, which is 1009% more than the Average Annual Budget outlay of 2009-14 ( ` 682 crore per year).

During 2014-22, 2322 Km length (176 km of New line, 771 km Gauge conversion and 1,375 km Doubling) falling fully/partly in the State of Rajasthan has been commissioned at an average rate 290.25 km per year, which is 82% more than commissioning during 2009-14 (159.6 Km/Yr.).

(c)  and  (d):  Gajsinghpur,  Hanumangarh and Nohar already exist on railway network. Gajsinghpur is connected to Hanumangarh via Sri Ganganagar  and  via  Suratgarh  also.  Hanumangarh-Nohar  line  also exists.  Survey  of  Gajsinghpur-Sadulpur  (248.54  km)  via  Padampur, Goluwala,  Rawatsar,  Taranagar,  Dadrewa  was  completed  in  201516.  Project  could  not  be  taken  forward  being  financially  unviable. Narnaul  is  connected  to  Alwar  by  rail  via  Rewari.  However,  no survey  has  been  carried  out  for  new  railway  line  between  AlwarNarnaul via Behror.

*****